


The Storm

by fefekitty



Category: Fantasy - Fandom
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, No Major Character Death, and cussing, but its a pretty good story, but there /will/ be character deaths sorry, no real smut either sorry, this is my first huge story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2015-05-16
Packaged: 2018-02-17 15:18:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 268,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2314202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fefekitty/pseuds/fefekitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A regular sleepless night becomes one of the craziest adventures of her entire life. Actually, it becomes the craziest shit she's ever been through, because what the hell is this? Wonderland? Oz? A romance novel? But hey, she's adapting well for the fact that she woke up face to face with a blue damned fairy, or rather, sidhe. Seriously? Could it get worse? Oh yeah, why does she keep asking that question?<br/>Because now, she's stepped her big ass foot right into the middle of a hundred year long plan for assassination of the entire royal family and thrown a wrench in the middle of it. Somebody is going to be really damned mad, and since she's the prince's "consort", for safety measures, really, it's not like she can bury her head in the sand. In fact, she's having to learn magic and the more she does, the crazier shit gets.<br/>All she wanted was to go HOME, but now, she can't leave her friends in the middle of all this trouble, alone, because she might be the only damned one that can help. Fuck insomnia, fuck it all to hell.<br/>It's what got her in this mess to begin with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Waking up to Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> So, I write random things all the time (no you can't see those they are stupid and usually scraped after I get a couple pages in just because) and I have no idea where this random pile of stuff came from, but I think I might actually write this one out a while.  
> Anyway, its silly, read it if you want, there's nothing particularly triggering in it I don't think. Just some cussing. Because I thought I would add some realism.  
> It is in fact some sort of Oz and Wonderland inspired idea meshed with the random things in my head. (I know, scary right? Just remember I warned you.)  
> If you take the time to read it, leave me some kind of comment. Enjoy.
> 
> This is chapter one of 'The Storm

~*~*~*~

"Can't sleep...."  
She mutters to herself more than to her husband who lay blissfully unaware in the bed next to her. Pushing back the covers brings the welcome relief of cooler air in the dark of the room, drying the sweat left over from the nightmare. In the few seconds between sitting up and yawning, the last vestiges of the dream are already fading. Something about the eyes in the dark, _running, heart racing, breath screaming in lungs seized with terror-_  
She shook her head and pushed it away.  
The sleeping form beside her shifted, and out of long learned habit she instantly moved farther to the right, pushing the covers toward him, and lowering her voice to murmur to him. He bundled them up beside him and curled around them, sleep undisturbed. If ever she moved, he would wake, but with the amount of restless nights she had, the schedules they kept, she had figured out how to fix that years ago. She trailed her hand down his arm as his breathing evened out, smiled at the sound that rumbled out of his chest, and tucked the covers securely around him. Then she put her right hand against the wall to move in the dark, slid slowly down the bed, and off into the darkness. Her hand found the bedpost, the cold of the window just beyond it, and she stepped forward, stretching out her other hand to find the next wall. But now she had these steps memorized, even in the pitch black of the bedroom, and just this simple familiarity was calming her mind.  
She stepped into the bathroom, bare feet curling against the cold tiles as she pushed the door closed and flipped on the light. It wouldn't wake him, she knew, unless she had the door open. It took only a few seconds to relieve her bladder, the size of a walnut really, and splash cool water over her face. She dried off, checked her phone for any random messages from her mother, (she'd gotten the insomnia from somewhere you know), and turned off the screen again when she saw nothing. It seemed she was up alone tonight. So she pulled on her long robe, belted it over the gigantic sleeping shirt, tucked the phone into her pocket, and flipped off the light. Overhead, thunder rumbled distantly, barely audible, but enough for her to pick it up.  
 _Ah,_ she thought, _that was why she'd woken up._  
She opened the bathroom door, fixed her eyes about waist high, and walked over the carpeted floor to the bedroom door, fingertips landing against the crack of the door and the wall. She tugged it open, lifted her gaze to the hallway beyond, which held some small light at the far end, and stepped out, closing it behind her with the quietest of thumps. Three steps brought her over the wood floor across the hall, where she pressed the same fingertips against the door that was slightly ajar, save for the meager light filtering through a crooked curtain to fall across the bed. She waited, breath held as the radio inside continued to play softly, until she counted more then two breaths from the young boy sleeping peacefully, sprawled across the mattress without a care in the world. A relieved breath eased out, and she backed up, turning, walking on the pads of her feet, three steps forward, one to the left, one long step here, over the few boards that creaked loudly when you walked on them, and then continued silently down the hallway.  
Yeah, she knew the way, better than both men of the house in fact. She was currently the only title holder, since ever, of being able to sneak up on either one of them. Not that she did on purpose most times, really.  
For now though, she stepped onto the carpet of the living room, looking for anything out of place, just out of habit. Front door still locked, curtains closed, stove off, coffee pot unplugged, TV off. Nothing amiss. The air still smelled fresh, since she'd propped open the doors when cleaning earlier in the day, absolutely elated it was finally turning spring after the long winter they'd had, although it was tinted with the smell of spaghetti since they'd had that for supper. She checked her phone, typed a quick text to her mom.  
 _-Can't sleep, up again. Nothings wrong. If your asleep stay that way, lol. If not, good morning mother.-_  
She eyed the back door as she muted the phone and dropped it back into her pocket, then twisted the handle. Open it just enough to slip out, planting one foot firmly, then turn and pull it closed but not shut, closing it from the outside without leverage took a slam, too loud, and if he woke up, he'd come looking for her. Like she always told him, follow the music, he'd find her.  
Two more steps, each uneven heights, then bare feet on the old wooden porch, wind whistling through the slats as she stepped up to the waist high railing. Silvery light barely illuminated the backyard, the length of fence around a portion of it, the apple trees beyond, the old shed that had a bit of lean to it, the burn pile and other trees scattered throughout. The field of kudzu past the dirt trail from the front that wound around to the shed looked endless in the dark, a forest of trees beyond, mountains in the distance, and only a few scattered lights along the right side barely seen in the night from the cars on the interstate a mile away. Really, it only looked like it went on forever.  
It was peaceful though, with nothing but the wind singing through the trees, picking up speed slowly, sending them dancing in the night like great lumbering creatures, but it couldn't quite hide the far off shush of rain falling. She could smell it, the humidity, the scent of dark wet earth that heralded the storm, and the hair raising power. Black clouds were boiling by, obscuring the moon more often than not, hence the lack of light, but it was okay, she liked storms. So she lay her arms on the railing, propped against it, and watched the storm roll in.

She shifted slightly, making the wood of the porch groan under her feet, and then she heard movement. She crouched down, looking through the slats as a deep growl resonated from underneath the porch, claws raking across cement as something moved, and the snarl was evident; she'd disturbed something. She tapped her nails on the slats, smiling, turning as a gold blur with stripes leapt out from under the porch, great mouth open wide as it landed and curved in one move, leaping back to face her, head down, ears back, muzzle snarled, hair bristled in warning. She cooed at him by name. He froze, blinked at her, then seemed to shrink three sizes and revert to being a puppy. He spun and rolled, jumping around as his tongue lolled out, tail whipping back and forth enough that his whole body shook while he rumbled happily at her. She leaned on the rail to see him, smiling affectionately.  
"Silly dog... scared'ya didn't I Chopper? Woke up the baby..."  
He goofed off another few minutes, happy to see her as she talked to him. She couldn't reach him, not from here, the backyard was lower than the front, so the porch was lifted up, almost on the second floor from the ground, and there were no steps back there. Yet. So she just talked to him, much like she did from the kitchen window in the afternoons when she made supper, going on as if he really listened. He acted like it, he would sit or lay there, far enough back that he could keep an eye on her, cock his head, perk up his ears at certain words, wag his tail and seem to laugh back every time she looked at him with a laugh or smile. He still thought he was a tiny lapdog, even though he was a mixed pit bull (and something tall, they weren't sure what really), standing hip high to her, able to jump nearly above the cement divider into the garage, (nearly), and he had paths run in his pen back there where he ran the edge and in certain circles. He was brennal colored, with black stripes over his orange-gold coat, and the little puppy was nearly a hundred pounds if he was five.  
They both looked up at the sudden flash of thunder that streaked through the sky, illuminating everything for a brief second. The clouds rolled on, boiling faster, heralding the storms arrival, and some feeling skittered up her spine. She tensed, going very still, lowering her gaze to scan around her as the hair on the back of her neck raised with a wash of pinpricks over her skin. Chopper suddenly lowered his head, bristling, growling, and gave one deep bark of warning. She heard the thud, the scrabble of nails, the beat of wings, and whirled around, expecting that pissed off mockingbird that liked to nest in her laundry room. Instead, something launched itself from the roof of her house, detaching from the darkness to spread great wings, longer than her arm span, and _fly towards her!_ She yelped, ducking down and covering her head, heart pounding, wishing she'd grabbed her gun as the thing skimmed just above her. Sharp talons swiped through her hair, a high pitched grating squawk piercing the silence of the night as the thing battered her with its wings while it tried to pull up. She shouted, cursing at it and swung, batting at it blindly.  
She connected, knocking herself onto her own ass, it was like hitting damned steel! The thing careened into the porch railing, flapping frantically, creating a godawful commotion as it swerved and tried to fly. It flew just out of Choppers reach as he barked and snapped at it, jumping to reach it as he snarled. She pushed to her feet and hit the rail, watching with wide eyes, breathe heaving, until it made it just past the pen and hit the ground. She could still hear the flapping, echoing oddly, and Chopper barking wildly.  
"Chopper leave it alone! Chopper!"  
He kept jumping at the fence, and she heard the fluttering, thumping, scrabbling. He reared back and despite her shout, leapt over the fence. She slammed her hands on the rail, frantic now, the damned thing had been _huge_ ; she didn't want Chopper loose with it!  
"Chopper! _No come back! **Chopper!**_ "  
But she heard them snarling, fighting, the squawking and barking, then the thing trying to fly away and Chopper giving chase. He'd get lost!  
She spun on her heel, rushing back inside, jumping from foot to foot for the briefest second, debating on what to do. Then she growled, pissed off, and knew she was going after that damned thing herself! She still had laundry on the couch, folded and ready to be hung up, so she snatched up some clothes, changing so the thing could hurt her so easily; any cornered wounded animal wouldn't be easy to kill. She yanked on her favorite old pair of blue jeans with the rip in one knee, felt the heaviness in one pocket meaning she'd left her gerber pocket knife in there again, oh well, and tugged on some tall socks. She snapped out a black tank top, pulled her blue and green flannel shirt she'd gotten from her dad on over it, unbuttoned, and sat down long enough to yank on her yellow military boots and knot them. As she moved by the counter, she stopped, snatching up her husband's 1911, pushing the holster down into her jeans snugly on her hip, just in case she needed it; her .22 had ratshot in it, that wouldn't even piss off that gigantic bird thing. She snatched up the extra two mags, without thinking about it, shoving them in the other pocket, and grabbed the long handled heavy flashlight. She burst out into the garage, running past the trailblazer, and skidded to a stop. She could still hear Chopper barking, mad and chasing that bird, but she'd rather not use the gun if she didn't have to. She wrapped her hand around the wooden hilt of the rusted old iron machete sticking out of one of the empty flower pots by the drive way. It came loose with a metallic ring and she hefted it with a grim smile.  
Try to hurt _her_ dog, would it? _Damn bird was going to die!_  
She tore at a run around to the pathway, holding the machete along her forearm, flashlight swerving dizzyingly over the ground, throwing shadows to dancing like spooked wraiths as she ran. Thunder rolled, lightening cracking across the sky in a bright flash that had her wincing. When she got to the back of the pen they were gone, and she swallowed, breath hitching as she spun in place, looking for them. She caught a flash of Chopper's tail, disappearing around a bush, headed in full chase after the bird. She hesitated only a second before she bolted after them with another curse. Her boots kicked up plumes of dirt and grass as she moved, sprinting after them, still trying to call him.  
But they were _so fast!_  
She kept _just barely_ getting a glimpse of them, and they tore down the road beside the shop that twisted through the woods, down to the greenfield and the pond. Chopper yelped, then renewed his barking, crashing through the night like a bat out of hell, and she dove off after them. The way was treacherous at first, pretty steep downhill, and washed out in deep grooves. She leapt over them, sliding and skidding as she cursed as colorfully as any her grandfather had taught her so long ago. She made it to the more even ground, where the trees grew together criss crossed over the road, ducking and still moving as she followed them. Another flash of lightening illuminated the world, and she caught a brief flash of them, unable to believe her eyes. _Had the fucking thing been that **big** before?!_  
She heard them then, tying up, the snarling and screeching terribly loud, raising in the night, sounding ferocious and so wrong. She burst into the clearing with the pond, whipping her arm up with the blade ready. But the sounds were fading into the night, stopped abruptly as a loud splash was heard. Rain was starting to fall, splattering over her head and shoulders, and lightening lit up the world again. The roll of thunder was almost instantaneous, which meant the storm was _here_ , they had to go!  
" _Chopper-!!!!_ "  
She heard a splash, a whimper over the rumble of the storm, and she ran toward the pond.  
"Chopper! Chopper get over here! Come on I'm right here I'll kill that feathered douchebag! Chopper, _oh_ **_shit!_** "  
He'd fallen in the pond! She stumbled to the edge, looking past the weeds and the foot drop to the water, lungs seizing with terror. Chopper was splashing, paddling, yelping and whining in a panic as he tried to swim. But why wasn't it working? Lightening flashed again, thunder rolled, and he dipped under the water and back up with a terrified gasp.  
 _Was something trying to pull him down? Was his foot stuck? **Where was that fucking bird?!**_  
She grabbed a fist full of weeds, digging her fingers into the soggy dirt as the rain started to fall in earnest, pelting her in white sheets. She leaned as far as she could, muscles screaming as she teetered on the edge, heart hammering. God she was fucking stupid she couldn't even swim but if she could reach him she could pull him in right? He bobbed again, nearly sinking completely before he broke the surface again, and she made a lunge for him before he disappeared. His eyes were wide and wild, focused on her fearfully. She swung her hands, fingers hitting the water slick chain around his neck, then catching it.  
" ** _Yes_**!"  
She pulled, moved him forward some even as he continued to flail, trying to reach her. Then he yowled as if something had him, and he was jerked under the water.  
Before she could do anything, with her hand wrapped around the chain, she was going too.  
A huge splash was all she heard as the cool water closed around her, over her head, and she was panicking. Terror pounded through her in scalding waves that she was sure would have her screaming were she able to breathe. But she shut her eyes tightly, feeling like she was being pulled through the water at an ungodly fast pace like they were tied to a boat. She hooked her other hand on his collar, pulling herself closer inch by inch as he pawed at her, as she fought the pull of the water. But there was nothing solid, nothing to grab, nothing to fight that she could find. Her lungs were seizing, aching and hurting with the need for air, making her dizzy, weak as she finally opened her mouth to gasp for air, and water filled her nose and throat. She choked, tried to scream, then lightening flashed, illuminating everything around her, suspended for one second in the depths of the water. The winged thing she'd seen before turned and faced her, spreading wide long wings that were scaled, strong, and its dark angry eyes landed on her as it opened its mouth. It was what was pulling, its serpentine tail wrapped around the dogs leg, and it screeched at her. But then she was out of air, and as the lightening faded away, the darkness closed in and she knew no more.

 

 _Air_!  
She jerked to life, coughing and spraying water out of the depths of her soul, gasping as she rolled to her hands and knees, shaking, terrified, soaked to the bone. She heaved for air, feeling her head aching, swishing in her ears, water clogging her lungs, but it was coming - up.  
By the time she stopped heaving, the black was swirling at her vision, the world spinning, and she couldn't force her eyes open. She groaned and backed up, away from the wet grass, collapsed on the ground as her teeth chattered. What the hell was going on? Where was chopper? What happened? She tried to pry her eyes open, to see, and there was light, like the lightening from before. _Too bright!_ She squeezed her eyes shut, and the darkness returned, rising up and swallowing her under like the water, and this time she relaxed into it.

 

When she woke up again, she could feel heat on her skin, like sunlight, see the bright glow of it through her eyelids, which felt like sandpaper, and something hot and heavy on her side and leg. She moaned, moving around sluggishly, mind nothing but confusion.  
" _T'fffffffuck...._ "  
She pulled her arm up under her, shaky and weak, picked her face up off the grass, let her hair fall around and protect her for the moment while she carefully blinked open her eyes. The world swam, rolled, and slowly steadied as she watched, forcing herself to breathe through the nausea. She had to figure out what was going on.  
Inches from her nose was emerald colored grass, almost bright enough to have a gold and blue hue to it, the ground beneath it black soil. She frowned, _that wasn't right_. Tentatively, as the world started to trickle back into her awareness, she turned her head to look around. She could hear birds chirping, cicadas singing, water burbling close by, and a panting, of something breathing besides her, and a rhythmic thumping. _T'hell was that_?  
Once she focused, it was on Chopper, whose face was right beside hers, tongue lolling happily. She smiled, happier than she could say to see him, and he licked her cheek, setting her hair to standing up at side, drool dripping off. She sighed. _Well_. Then she realized the heat, the heaviness, was him, the thumping was him wagging his massive tail. She laughed at him as he licked at her again, giving a soft whine, and she shoved him, sending him rocking backwards, and off her. He was damned heavy.  
She finally got a good look around her, and sat up, looking all around with a gasp.  
The air was warm, broken by a gentle breeze, thick with the scent of apple trees in full bloom in the, middle of summer. And they were every where, the trees around her all heavy and groaning with the weight of millions of white and pink petals, some of which scattered across the ground as she watched. A crystal clear pond rippled behind her, with a tiny waterfall tumbling into it, pure white sand glittering at the bottom, disturbed only by exotic looking jewel toned fish that swam around in small eddies, oblivious to her. There was a path off to one side, passing under an old white arbour, covered in bare foot prints.  
She sat up, holding her head as it gave a swift throb of vengeance for the fast motion, then looked again. No it was all still there. All of it. Chopper learned against her side with a soft whine, and she looped her arm around him, shushing him as she looked down and checked herself out. She seemed in one piece, clothes all still intact, all dry, oddly, and the gun was still on her hip ( _thank god!_ ), the magazines were in her pocket when she checked, the machete she'd had was laying half under her leg, the flashlight beside it, and she seemed completely unhurt. Except for the lingering headache from trying to **_drown and die_**.  
She sucked in a breath, looking up again, determined not to panic, and then sat very, very still, gazing up stupidly until her eyes burned. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, looking again, before she murmured to him softly.  
"Chopper... I don't think we're... even in the Milky way anymore."  
He made a questioning whine, but she couldn't even make a sarcastic comment about ripping off a line from the wizard of oz, she was too busy staring. Across the sky from the big golden ball of sunshine, was another one, smaller, red hued, and beyond it, taking up a big portion of the sky, was a great planet of blues and greens, swirling vivid colors that bled together, and a giant gold ring around it, edged in black, sparkling like a distant diamond on the far horizon. The sky itself, which should have been Alabama blue, was a light violet color, scattered with puffy opalescent clouds.  
She gaped, staring as if the answer would fall into her lap or simply pop into existence.  
Then Chopper stiffened, started to growl softly, and she turned to look in a daze.  
"Greetings young one."  
She stared. "Hoooooo-ly shit."  
  



	2. Blue Fairies and Royal Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aurora just gaped at her. "Say what? Dude! I've got double D's! Double! Do I look like I can go without a bra?! I... oh good grief."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... enjoy!

"Greetings young one."

She stared. "Hoooooo-ly shit."

He looked surprised, and a bit curious at her choice of words. 

"Forgive me child, what language is this you speak?"

She stared at him, mouth working as he tapped a finger against his chin, looking contemplative while he repeated her words.

"Hoe-lee she-it-uh...."

Finally she cleared her throat, and tapped Chopper on the head with a soft 'hush' so he would stop growling.

"Ah, it's redneck."

He looked surprised, then pleased as he smiled.

"Ah, splendid! You _do_ understand the royal language. I have not heard of this tongue, but it is pleasing to the ears, as is your accent with our speech. But enough of that, you look ill child, have you been sick? How come you to be here in the Garden of Alexandria?"

She stared at him while she felt a muscle ticking under her eye. The Garden of Alexandria? And for Christ's sake, what the hell was going on?   
Suddenly, something registered to her beyond the obvious change of scenery.  
Good lord he looked like he was Seelie Sidhe. _Was she actually dreaming_?  
She remembered reading about dreams, about ways to tell if you were awake. She felt awake, well she _felt like hell_ , and you weren't suppose to feel pain in dreams right? But that book had also said that in a dream, when you tried to remember how you had gotten somewhere, there would be no memory of it. Just blanks. She stared at her boots and realized with a vivid clarity that she certainly remembered the details of everything.

_Son of a **bitch**_.

She looked up at him, still waiting in silence, and _really_ looked at him.  
He was tall, slender, and very damned obviously not human. Not like her. He had moonlight pale skin, marbled with the faintest traces of blue here and there, with his hair intricately styled and hanging down his back in several braids, nearly to his feet. It was a bright shimmery blue the color of deep water. His features were sharp, strong but somehow delicate, like there was a lightness to the bone underneath that shouldn't be there, but he was still built like a man, because she watched the muscles flex in his arms as he held them open _f_ _or her to look at him_ , with a smug smile. It made his outfit shift, stretching across a chest broader than she had first thought, the top sleeveless, pure white, something like silk, and wide legged pants that flared out around bare feet, a deep dark blue. He had symbols painted along his arms, things that glittered enticingly, that she wanted to run her hands over and try to read, to figure them out, in every shade of blue in the spectrum. Little silver chains decorated his biceps, his wrists, and his ears, which she suddenly noticed, and stared. They were normal, like hers; but if you knew your mythology, like she did, that meant that you were pure blooded Seelie, only the UnSeelie had pointed ears, or 'other imperfections'. At the thought, she returned her gaze to his eyes, and her jaw fell again. After all, he was pretty, but she was more concerned about everything else at the moment. His eyes, which were dancing with amusement, were three circles of color. The inside was a crystal clear blue like shallow water, the next was darker, more like the color of a sapphire glinting in the sun, and the third was a deep midnight blue like the skies around the moon. 

She felt her stomach knotting up, her chest getting tight, panic clutching at her throat as she gasped a breath. _Oh god, **oh god-**_

"I-I'm lost... where am I?!"

He frowned, and it looked wrong on a face so young looking, so strangely perfect.

"You are in the garden of the King of the Seelie Sidhe, in the middle of our great kingdom in Fearie. Where are you from child?"

At a sudden thought he hesitated, and she was glad, she was having trouble keeping up, but he looked, for a split second, as if he had found an abandoned troll baby. Maybe he'd had experience with that before. _Shut up mind-_

"You are not  _UnSeelie,...._ are you?"

She felt a hysterical laughter bubbling up from somewhere, and those black dots swirled at the edges of her vision, bringing with it a strange roaring in her ears as he continued to stare at her.

"Great, great, lovely. Nope, not UnSeelie. I'm human."

From the shock that registered on his face, it was the last answer he'd expected, but apparently much better than being UnSeelie. She'd figured so. Hoped anyway. He started forward, suddenly concerned as she swayed.

"A human?! There have been no humans here in centuries! I remember the last one, but - here young one, let me help you-"

He skidded to a stop as Chopper started growling, eyeing the animal as if unsure whether he should attack or not, and she looped her hand through his collar, shushing him.

"Hush Chopper.. he can... be a... friend.."

He tilted, doubled and went back to normal as she blinked furiously. _That_ wasn't a good sign. When Chopper quieted the guy hit his knees in front of her, touching his hand to her forehead as she stared at him determinedly. His hand was cool, felt good, and she let her eyes flutter closed. He was bigger up close anyway, not as tiny as she'd first thought him to be.

"You are burning up! I must get you to a healer! Come young one, what is your name?"

Names had power in fearie, she knew. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, watching the black edging her vision even behind her closed eyes, and pulled a name from one of her books.

"Aurora.."

"I am Tristan, here, allow me to help. Please do not let your familiar attack me...."

She tried to open her eyes, but it wasn't working, they were too heavy. Then her world rolled, shifted and she gasped, feeling seasick. He stood, cradled her to his chest as if she really were a child, (hell, she was nearly six feet tall, two hundred pounds, that was a feat!), but he didn't even hesitate. Her cheek fell against the swell of his chest, head lolling, and the shirt was oddly soft against her skin. He smelled like the ocean, like sun warmed waves and the fresh open air she remembered from childhood vacations.

As she went under again, that's what she dreamed of; white sand, blue water, and the smiles of her parents and sister.

\----

This time she woke up instantly, coming to life with a resounding pop. Her eyes snapped open, her whole body tensed, and she bolted upright, bringing up her hands and swinging at the figure over her. There was an indignant squeak as it tumbled and went flailing, a wooden clang and crash as a tray hit the ground with the creature. She snarled, reaching for her blade at her hip, and then realized she was in different clothes, her things were gone!

"Aw _HELL NO_!"

She was flinging back the covers, moving as the door slammed open to reveal Tristan, wide eyed and alarmed, feet braced for attack, hair flying wild and loose around him as he came in and she froze at the sight.

"What? _What has happened?! What is wrong_?!"

She stared, dumbfounded for a moment, because he was shirtless. _Why was he shirtless_? Jesus Christ she could bounce a plate off that guys abs! That was _inhuman._

_Oh, wait_.

"What the hell is going on! Where's my stuff! And my dog! WHERES MY DOG!?"

He stared at her a heartbeat, thunderstruck, as did the woman on the ground, before he threw up his hands with a sound of frustration and then slapped them on his hips with a huff.

"Your severely un-friendly mammoth familiar is in the next room sleeping! As I was! Your clothing and weapons are being washed and dried, and you are suppose to be sleeping as well! _What, by the divine, is wrong with you woman_?"

She blinked at him, deflating instantly, and completely felt like an ass.

"I... ah... sorry.."

He reared back, apparently shocked.

"What?"

"I'm sorry... I... woke up, and she was leaning over me, and I just.. reacted. I'm kind of.. out of my depth here. I'm sorry to you too, did I hurt you?"

The woman, (a servant?), shook her head, never raising her eyes once Tristan had entered the room. She looked Seelie, what was she doing? 

"Here I can help clean that up-"

"No, let her."

She bristled, lifting her lip as she put her feet on the floor and stood.

"It was my fault, and I think I hit her. I should-"

He moved forward, hands out as her knees buckled and the world spun.

" _Shit_ -sit, I should sit."

He helped her back to the bed, keeping a hand on her to make sure she didn't fall.

"Yes, you should. Our healers had to be careful with you, they were unsure of what our healing magic would do, if it would have any adverse effects, so they have been slowly healing you. _That_ is why you should sit."

She covered her face with her hands, breathing slowly until the world slowed and stopped.

"Okay, yeah... what's wrong with me?"

"Perhaps a reaction to the changing of your home to this place? You have not woken in three days, so we could not ask you what happened. We were starting to think you wouldn't wake...."

She stared at the woman who was putting small dishes and some kind of food back into the tray, taking a rag out of her pocket to wipe up the few drops of something she had spilled. It suddenly hit her, what he'd said, and her voice came out a warble.

" _Th-three days_?!"

She swung around to see him, and he looked softer, sympathetic.

"Yes young one, three days time. We returned to the pond to see if there were any clues to tell us some sort of story.... but there was nothing useful. Only the lingering traces of UnSeelie magick, and the apparent marks of where you climbed out of the pond, or so it seemed."

She stared at him, mind whirling furiously, and couldn't figure out what to say.

"Can you tell me what you remember from before I found you?"

She felt sick. God her family, her husband, what did they think? She took a moment, breathing in and out slowly, trying to settle the nausea rolling in her stomach, the panic fluttering under her ribs. Then she told him, about waking up, going outside, the bird, chopper running, her flight through the woods and then the fight at the edge of the pond. Then being pulled under and.... that was it. Waking up, passing out, waking up again, and then _he_ was there.

Tristan stared at her, wide eyed and listening intently. At some point the other woman had left quietly, leaving them alone. When she finished her story, he looked thoughtful, staring at the floor silently. She looked around then, mostly in awe. The place was something out of a fearie tale - (oh haha). She was starting to wonder if she had just gone crazy. But the room she found herself in was some seriously royal shit. Everything was gold and opulent, shining and glittering brightly in jewel toned colors from a vibrant pink to a hot yellow. Everything was silks and pillows and wispy curtains and strangely beautiful paintings of fair landscapes. The huge window on one wall, which she belatedly noticed the walls around it, looking like white sandstone, like big cinder blocks or an old irish castle, was covered in a thick curtain, shutting out what she assumed was the night. The floors were covered in thick throw rugs, with ornately carved white wooden furniture painted with all sorts of flowery designs. It was beautiful, really, but so weird.

She thought maybe she'd gotten a girls room, and with a side glance at her silent companion, she wondered if his room was decorated in blue, or if she'd just caught him on an oddly color coordinated day. Then she told herself to stop thinking of such stupid questions, jerked out of her thoughts by the smooth voice beside her.

"The creature you described sounds much like one of the Slaugh, they can travel between the worlds with any in between places... it is part of their magick, perhaps your pond was one such place, and it was out hunting for food."

"It was trying to eat my friggin dog? What the hell? Stupid fucking bird I'll kill it if I ever get my hands on it-"

"That would be unwise, and also, highly unlikely."

She stopped, turning to look at him as she lowered her hands from the imaginary throttling she was doing to the bird.

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, looking away from her, and she thought, _oh no_.

"Although not all, many of the slaugh are like animals in nature. Even if we could find the one that brought you here, it may not be able to tell us what happened, or how to get you back. There are thousands of the slaugh, and - "

" _WHAT_?! But - but I have to get home!"

"I did not say it was impossible, only... highly improbible to do so that way. We can find another way, I am sure. But for now, you should rest. You will need your strength young one. Tomorrow we will speak to the king, and come up with something, okay?"

"But... well... well, alright.. but the King himself? Do we really have to bother a king? I'm not exactly important, I don't think -"

"Nonsense, you are the first human in centuries to set foot in fearie. There will be all kinds of things going on, especially now that you are awake to speak with us. Come now, don't look so down, it may even be fun. Now, to bed with you."

She muttered several protests amidst a sudden yawn while he ignored her and pulled back the covers. She looked down at herself, wearing a silver looking nightgown, some simple sleeveless short thing, and sighed as she turned her gaze to the overly welcoming plush bed. She yawned again as he firmly ushered her under the covers and tucked them up over her. Her head hit the pillow, and she halfway wondered if he was doing something to make her sleepy, it was possible, at the moment anything was. Her eyes were so heavy, but she pried them open to slits to look up at him. He hesitated, then reached out and tugged the covers up to her chin, the soft smile he'd been wearing slowly fading, and those tri-colored eyes went sad.

She wondered why. 

Then sleep pulled her under, back into the warm darkness, and she found she was fast becoming friends with that pitch black ether. She kind of hoped it wasn't some bad omen

\-----

The next morning, or something like that, she woke to a knock on the door. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, nearly screaming as something thumped her side. She twisted to see, and then slumped in relief and huffed a laugh.

" _Chopper_! Good lord dog, you scared the shit outta me. How did you get in?"

He kept thumping his tail happily, and she reached over to rough her hands over his head, petting him with a smile. Had Tristan let him in when he'd left?   
She jerked at the knock, remembering then what had woke her. _Oops_.

"Yeah?"

She flinched, hearing her mothers voice in her head. She did have manners, really she did. She was blaming the lapse on her freaking concussion and near death experience. Oh, and that she was in fearie. She held in the hysterical laugh that threatened and listened to a soft voice from beyond the door.

"Mistress I am here to bring you your own things and get you ready for your audience with the King."

Audience with the King huh? Could she play sick?

She thought about it and sighed. No, she wouldn't be a coward. Plus, Tristan could be right. After all, hadn't she always dreamed of adventure or whatever? Now was her chance, what, was she going to chicken out and stay in her room? Pfft.

"Ah, sure. C'mon in."

She swung her feet over the edge, sitting up as the same girl came in, eyes on the ground as she bumped the door closed and came over. She wore something simple, like a longer sleeveless dress that was a deep blue, with a pale blue apron tied over it, and white boots. Her hair was pulled back, but it looked pitch black, and she had feline-like features, and pointed ears. Oohhh.

She suddenly remembered the hierarchy of power, at least from the old stories, and wondered how much of it was true.  
The woman, somehow, (which was bloody amazing), curtsied in front of her, then lay down the armload of things she held on the bed. Something in her chest loosened at seeing her familiar things, and she sighed.

"Wow, thank you."

She looked surprised, but it was hard to tell when someone wouldn't look directly at you.

"Hey, uh, so, what d'you mean 'help' me get ready?"

The woman reached for the bolt of fabric she could see that she had known wasn't hers, pulling it up gingerly. 

"The normal tailor has not made it back from his trip yet, so I am sorry but you will have to put up with my attempts to make you something. I have apprenticed, but not yet become a tailor in profession."

She stared at her a moment, then snapped her fingers. The girl jerked, then went still.

"Hey, can you look at me? Is there some reason you keep staring at the floor, is that like, a thing here?"

She whipped her eyes up, surprised surely, and Aurora gasped. The girl instantly dropped her eyes and looked horrified, covering her face and stepping back.

"Forgive me mistress I was just - please, yes, maids and servants are not allowed to look into the face of those higher in station than them."

Aurora stared at her, instantly defiant. 

"Pfft. Well that's fuckin stupid. I think your eyes are cool, and s'kind of weird to talk to someone that looks like they're tryin to commune with the rugs."

She grinned, happy when the girl looked back up at her and seemed to be trying not to laugh. Her eyes were _awesome_ , a metallic blue-green that shimmered, with a cat's slitted pupils. 

"What is, 'cool'?"

Aurora snorted. "Well, it's slang I guess. I meant they were really pretty."

She looked shocked, and Aurora just shrugged. _They were_. Then she held out her hand.

"So I'm F-from, ah, not here, obviously, my names Aurora. What's yours?"

_Damn_. She'd nearly spat out her own name. The girl glanced at the door as if expecting the wrath of hell, then looked back at her.

"Yes mistress I was told your name, but what is it you are doing?"

_Oops_.

"Oh... its.. ah, like, a greeting, between people, where I come from... just, never mind, don't worry about it.."

She halfway laughed, and waved away the awkward moment. She had to remember where she was. Maybe she could get a few tips from Tristan before they went in to the 'King'. She didn't want to royally offend someone, at least by accident. If she did it on purpose, that was another thing.

"So, what's the... what is going on? What can I call you?"

"I.. I... am Belle, Mistress."

"Belle, seriously with the Mistress crap. I'm Aurora. Please."

"Uhm... right. Well, I was instructed to outfit you properly, your clothes are not.. suitable to go see the King in..."

She almost bristled, almost, then sighed. Nah, they were right. Ripped blue jeans and a tank top? Oh well.

"Okay, so how do we do this?"

She was ushered through a side door, which she'd thought was just like a hanging curtain or something, and into a bathroom. Of sorts. Apparently, everything ran on magic here. But they had toilets, of a sort, that were like regular solid bottomed chairs, with holes in the seat to some black hole somewhere, or something like that. _Weird as shit,_ ( and going into the category of shit I don't really want to figure out how it works). The 'showers' were just a place where there was a slightly lowered place on the floor, bare of rugs, where they conjured up water and bathed with any of the many brightly scented and colored bottled of soap on the ledge.   
So her new friend Belle helped her with all of this, even getting to brush her teeth after she'd explained it, (because seriously? _Eww_ ), then finally wrapped her in a robe and sat her before this big mirror and marble looking counter top. She went to work on Aurora's hair, alternating with blowing it dry with gusts of wind from one hand, and heat from her other to straighten it, brushing it out until it was shimmering. She did have pretty hair, she'd always liked her hair, but this was some crazy herbal essences commercial shit right here. She pulled out a makeup bag, and after a short, mostly one sided argument, Aurora gave in with a compromise. She would wear a _little_ eyeshadow, mascara, and maybe even lipstick. So Belle went with what she could. Pale pink lipstick, a little dark blue shadow under her eyes, and some black mascara over her lashes. She could deal with that.

But she wasn't going commando. She yanked on her underwear, and as Belle watched her, in confusion and surprise, she turned with her hands on her hips, robe still wound tightly on her.

"And what about a bra? Can I wear mine with whatever clothes your wanting me to wear? Or do you have one?"

That sparked another explanation, where she finally showed Belle the one she'd been wearing, and the girl frowned.

"We do not wear either of these things here."

Aurora gaped at her. "Say what? Dude! I've got double D's! Double! Do I look like I can go without a bra?! I... oh good grief. Fine, but I'm putting mine on even if its ugly or shows with my clothes if what you put me in is even mildly transparent."

"Yes mistress...?"

She just hung her head. 

For the next ten minutes, she watched the girl work in awe. It started with a long bolt of fabric she pulled from pile of them, shimmering and silky, soft to the touch, and the most beautiful opalescent white. She wrapped it around Aurora, held it up to look at it critically. Aurora couldn't figure out how she was suppose to wear a bolt of fabric with no hems or buttons or anything.

Then Belle started her work.

She wove her hands, murmured under her breath in a soft, lilting language, and moved around Aurora, watching her spell work. She was weaving the dress, tailoring it by magic, and it was cool as hell, and a bit scary because she bet that she could strangle her with it no problem. _Not_ a comforting thought.

 

  
When she stepped back to admire her handiwork, Aurora was beyond amazed. She'd asked questions, took in Aurora's opinion on what she liked, and made it so.

The dress was wispy and flowy at the bottom, long enough to reach her knees, barely, the top like a corset, weaved tightly, but not actually cinching thankfully, it was very comfortable and she didn't even have to wear a bra with it, hell to the yeah. 

Then Belle picked up some more fabric, used this bright blue translucent material to make an edge around the sleeveless top, looping it over her arms even with the top like an off the shoulder dress, then wound ribbons from the leftover blue, lacing them up the sides of the outfit where the material bunched in the fashion of a corset. Aurora's only changes had been pockets hidden in the sides, and some kind of thick scabbard for her machete. With a strange look Belle had made her one that fit along her thigh and hip, and they worked on the hole in the back top of the pocket on her right side until she could comfortably draw it out, instead of having to flash everyone by lifting her skirt to get to it if she needed it.

"I'm a little surprised you aint arguing with me over this Belle... do you think I might need it?"

The maid shrugged, but her eyes were a little more serious. "One can never tell mistress."

Well, didn't that inspire warm fuzzy feelings? But honestly, she was excited to the point she had butterflies in her stomach, and couldn't stand still more than a few seconds. Belle finally got her made up some white sandals with a bit of a heel, and more blue ribbon that matched the dress to wrap around her calves. She looked over the outfit and grinned.

"This is beautiful Belle thank you! I'll kick ass in this!"

The girl flushed, smiling. "I do not know what that means but I am glad you approve."

They were interrupted by a sudden musical blare of horns, and Belle jerked.

"Oh! We must go before we are late! Hurry mistress hurry!"

She was being herded out the door, and looked back at Chopper. "Wait my dog-"

"Mistress you cannot take your familiar into the court of the High King-"

She caught the doorframe and stopped them, making Belle stare at her in shock.

"Okay, you've got a point. But can I trust you to feed him and watch him?"

She looked back, and Chopper wagged his tail, looking friendly, the little shit, and she sighed.

"Yes Mistress, but we must make all due haste!"

Then she was being pulled down the hallways, and she was glad, because she would have gotten totally lost. This place was _huge_ , with corridors, windows, great open walls to sunshine and endless flowers and trees, and so many rooms full of brightly colored people and more servants, and decorations that were absolutely stunning. But she didn't have time to process it all, they were flying down the hallways, getting closer to the music. Suddenly she remembered, and hissed at Belle in a low voice.

"Hey wait, where's Tristan?! I am NOT going before the King without him!"

Belle looked her as if she were mad.

" _Of course_ he will be there! The entire royal household and all the members of the royal court attend any of the gatherings in the great hall. He is to meet you outside the doors, now come along!"

"Oh, well okay..."

_Touchy_.

They rounded one last corner, and there were a pair of great doors at the end of this hall, surrounded on both sides by huge arched doorways that led outside and spilled in sunlight and fresh air and the scent of flowers. The big doors were gold, covered in intricate engravings, letters that looked vaguely like the elder furthark runes, and a sun spread across the two doors. On either side were two guards, clothed in matching golden outfits that were basically just loose fitting silken pants, and criss crossing straps across their torsos with loops for extra weapons, which they seemed to have plenty of, accentuated wth reds, oranges, and yellows, and all had tri-colored eyes. Each of them were built like freaking muscled giants, standing there with their spears planted on the ground, feet braced wide, and all had their own coloring. It seemed to be a thing with these people, colors and looking like freaking gods. Ugh.

But then she caught sight of the form pacing back and forth in front of the doors hands clasped behind his rigid back, obviously stressed.

She had that effect a lot, but some of her own stress melted away at seeing him. He was familiar, a friend she supposed, something in a completely mad world to hold on to.

He whirled at the sound of hurried footsteps, and the guards each assumed a threatening position. She skidded to a stop before Belle did. _Nope_!

Tristan looked relieved, waving the guards away with a snapped word, and while they exchanged wary glances they returned to attention, but kept staring, _at her_. He walked over, expression softening as he reached for her, and started talking, fast.

"Tristan what-"

"Thank you Belle, I have it from here."

She curtsied, murmured a quick 'yes m'lord', and was off. Aurora glanced back after her, but Tristan was pulling her along.

"Okay, listen. ..I meant to have time to go over a few things with you, but we don't have any. Just follow my direction, okay? Oh and, here, well, ... yes, here."

He looked flustered, and reached up, taking one of the silver cuffs from around his upper arm off and taking her hand, then sliding it up onto hers. She squeaked when it shrunk to fit her, eyeing the tiny designs engraved on it.

"Ah, yeah its pretty.. thanks? But what-"

"No time, we're on, just stay close to me, no matter what, deep breath, flower."

She gaped at him, then wiped the look off her face at the musical blast from inside the doors. He turned to face them, putting her at his side, then tucking her hand into the crook of his arm.

_You're going going before a king, walk like you were taught, remember your manners, smile_.

So she let her excitement show on her face, in her smile, sending one quick one up at Tristan, who looked shocked then pleased as he returned the smile. Then the great doors to fearie opened in a glittering burst of light, of exotic wild smells, and surely a hundred people in all shapes, sizes, and colors, talking and laughing.   
Everything was gold and silver, jewels and brightly colored decorations, wispy hanging banners behind the tables laden with all sorts of food, servants moving here and there, and all of them swiveling to face them. Up on a dias at the end of the room was a gloriously opulent display of power, a raised throne, with another much smaller one on the left side, much the same, but feminine, with a beautiful woman sitting on it, obviously the Queen, and another, decked out in blues and silvers, a copy of the kings but just a tad smaller. 

She saw now why the rest of the place was decorated the way it was. The King's colors, apparently, were the colors of a sunset. He was a bear of a man, unusual she'd thought by the standards she'd seen so far, until she'd seen the guards, but now she saw all of the sidhe weren't built the same. His hair was like fire, a big beard around his jaw that faded into orange, and it looked like real fire for a split second; his skin was golden sun kissed, and warm looking, decked out in finery as he stood up, held his arms out wide, and smiled from ear to ear. His voice brought everyone in the room turning to look, booming across the space like the rumble of thunder.

"Ah, my son has finally arrived! Come in Prince Tristan come in, who is this that you've brought with you?"

She froze, resisting the urge to look behind her for whoever in the hell he was talking to because it _obviously_ wasn't them, _right?_ Then Tristan cleared his throat, taking another step forward, inclinging his head at the question, and every damned eye in the room landed on them.

  
She slowly turned her head to see _the prince_ , felt that tick under her eye as her smile became forced, and he looked kind of sheepish.

_That son of a bitch_. Well,...... she hoped not.

"Greetings Mother and Father, I bring as my consort the first human to step foot into fearie in centuries."

_Son of a mother fucking bitch_.

**_She was going to fucking kill him_**.

That's when all action froze in the Great Court of the Seelie. Silence fell across the glittering throng as every head turned to focus on _her_ like lasers, and she raised her free hand to wave her fingers, leaning just a little closer to the blue fairy at her side despite her ire with him. Suddenly, it was okay. _Just don't leave her here alone oh god-_

He barely nudged her, and she realized she had only squeaked. She pointedly straightened her spine just a bit.

  
"Hi y'all...."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I am actually through with about ... uhm, sixteen chapters? So those of you reading, will, at least at first, be only waiting on me to have time to format them to ao3 and post them, which should hopefully take only a day or som a peice. I could do it faster, but it's nearly impossible to do from my tablet. I caaaaan but its SUUUUUUCH a pain in the ass so I'm sorry. But I'll upload them as fast as I can...  
> Also, if it's not already apparent, it will be, that my writing style never really stays the same... I don't know why, its just... weird. But it changes, so yeah.. sorry about that.  
> Anyway! On with the show right? *scuttles away*


	3. Surprises, both sweet and nasty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit.

That's when all action froze in the Great Court of the Seelie. The silence fell across the glittering throng as every head turned to focus on her like lasers, and she raised her free hand to wave her fingers, leaning just a little closer to the blue fairy at her side despite her ire with him.

"Hi y'all...."

The silence stretched out another moment as the Queen pushed to her feet, stepping up beside her husband to stare, obviously as surprised as everyone else. Then the King's voice boomed out again, startling everyone out of their shock as he laughed. It was contagious, deep and warm, but somehow a little off, or maybe she was just nervous. _Not sure why though_..

He started forward down the steps with his arms still outstretched, his grin firmly back in place as the people started to move. Some laughed hesitantly, joining into the king's apparent enjoyment of the situation, others were obviously dying to gossip, but held their tongues until they found out how the king was going to react. 

"So this is where you've been my son! Why you've been so preoccupied! Well come, come, introduce your little human to the courts!"

He moved, and she moved with him, insides quaking, excitement and terror and awe and disbelief clutching her chest tight, making her breathing a little frantic, her nerves jangling. She was in the high court of fearie, about to be introduced to the king himself, on the arm of his son.

Jesus Christ, she was from Alabama, from Earth, milky way galaxy. She was quiet sometimes, crazy others, and a nerd, always with her head in a book. Since the first time her mother had opened that old book, the one with the cloth binding, the flowery golden script that read the words Fairy Tales, she had never been the same.

She had listened to her momma reading the old stories with stars in her eyes, the real stories where fearies came and took away unsuspecting women and children and men, and instead of being afraid, she'd been starstruck. She'd had those stories read to her every night, and had been reading them on her own before she was four. The rest of her life, especially with the understanding of libraries which threw open millions of doors for her, she devoured every last word of every page she could lay her hands on to read about mythology, fiction, fairy tales, old folklore and tales of the Seelie, the great a mysterious god like creatures called fey.

She was _here_. 

_God help her she stood in the center of the shining court_. 

She pulled from that knowledge, took a deep breath to settle her nerves, and remembered the things she'd learned.

So as Tristan took a step forward, she lifted her head, lowered her shoulders, walked as if she were a queen. A soft sway of her hips, feet whispering on the floor, a bright serene smile as she straightened and moved as if she had a stack of books on her head, perfectly in sync with him. He sent her a tiny proud smile, curled his hand over hers where it rested on his arm, and turned the smile to his father as he raised his head. 

She was still kicking his ass later, but for now...

"I present to you Aurora... Aurora, this is my father, the High King of the Seelie Sidhe, Aurii Lucis."

She repeated the name in her head and hoped she could remember it, 'our-eye'. Wait, didn't his name translate to something like gold light in Latin?

Since Tristan wasn't dropping into a bow, and still had his hold on her arm, she assumed she wasn't suppose to either, so she moved as if to curtsy, but barely bent her knees, lowering her head slowly and dropping her eyes to the ground before bringing them back to him. His gaze landed on her, and this close, she could see his eyes, looking up into them as the bear of the man turned to her. His very eyes were like a sunset, the center color a molten gold, the next a vibrant orange, and the outside a firey ruby red, but the gold looked as if it had burst, trailing streaks out across the other two colors. Wow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you High King."

The 'high' king part seemed important, so she was going with that. His smile widened, and he inclined his own head.

"Of course it is! But it is a grand surprise to see a human here once again! Come child, come! Tell us how you came to arrive here, tell us all about it!"

He stepped to the side, still amiable, but she thought his eyes sharpened. Huh. Tristan nudged her forward, and they followed the Kings hand as he led them up toward the dias. Did she want to go up there? _Fuck_ no. Was she going to balk in front of the king and the court? Pffffft. _Nope_! Not over _this_ anyway.

The waiters, who had all disappeared like magic, finally returned and scurried about the room checking on everyone. A few appeared on the stage, waiting on the King's behest, who waved a bejeweled hand at them.

"Quickly, quickly! Bring the girl a chair, put her there by my son where his consorts seat should be!"

There was that word again. Yeah they were gonna have a talk later. 

For now, she watched as the waiters returned with a dainty throne, a miniature version of Tristan's, apparently, and settled it close enough that the arms of the chairs were touching. She wasn't going to argue with that much, right now.

As they stepped up on the dias, the queen was still standing. She twitched her fingers against Tristan's arm for his attention, since neither man had bothered to say much of anything else to the woman.

Look, she wasn't an  _overly_  charming person, but she had manners damnit. 

So she stopped, offering a smile at the Queen, whose eyes went surprised. Tristan must have understood, because he cleared his throat.

"Mother, Aurora. Aurora, this is my mother, the Queen of the Seelie court, Morrigan Lucis."

The queen was beautiful, tall and willowy, graceful as she moved. Her hair was blonde, but so light it was almost white, with a few darker strands here and there through the riot of curls that tumbled down her back and framed her face. She looked extremely delicate next to the King, who they both looked up to, and had high cheekbones and full lips, reminiscent of Tristan, and she thought he'd gotten most of his looks from his mother. She was softer in color than the king, but with the same warm gold colored skin, and a bright smile she suddenly aimed at Aurora as if she'd done something surprising, but right.

She came closer, arms outstretched, and Aura had a split second of panic. She just wasn't big for those girly affectionate touches like hugs and things. At least not with strangers; but she supposed she could make an exception for the Queen. As she opened her arms in response, the Queen stepped up and wrapped her in a light embrace. Several things registered at one time, the fact that the queen was the same height as her, that she was unusually warm, like Tristan, and that she smelled of apple blossoms and that unique scent of spring. Despite being awed, Aurora was careful not to make it a full body hug, lest the queen feel the blade's sheath on her thigh, even though it hung down the outside of her leg she didn't want to take any chances. When she stepped back, they shared a smile, and the queens voice, lilting and musical, rose enough for everyone to hear. They stared at each other while she spoke, and Aurora noted her eyes were like something out of an easter basket, a vibrant hot pink in the center, a pale robins egg blue in the middle, and a bright buttercup yellow on the outside. 

"Welcome Aurora, to our fair court. I am glad to see our son has finally shown interest in someone, please, have a seat and tell us everything!"

"Thank you Queen..."

These people were way too nice. It was creepy. But if she had read one story, she had read a thousand about the 'politics' played in the court of fearie, and she figured much of it was presentation. Then Tristan took her hand with a smile and she turned to him. He lead her over and helped her sit, giving her an encouraging smile and a wink, keeping hold of her right hand as he turned and sat back in his chair, again keeping his left hand over her right one. 

Yep. _Long_ talk.

Then the King sat, leaning around to see her, still smiling, and prodded her again for her story.  
It wasn't long, there wasn't much to the story really, in fact Tristan piped up to help with much of it, which she was glad for. She was still unsure about how the politics worked around here. (Of course, she was leaving out that she had sat and ogled the man's son for five whole dumbstruck minutes, but she wasn't admitting that to _anyone_ thank you.)The court ohh'd and ahh'd and gasped melodramatically over her flight through the dark after her dog, which they had to see. She held up her hand as the King told one of the waiters to fetch him.

"Wait! It's- its fine to bring him, but you should get Belle to bring him, he knows her. I believe he might attack anyone else.."

The King stared at her in shock, before he grinned.

"Alright child, alright. You there, fetch Tristan's maid, have her bring the familiar."

Aurora leaned back, looking around and meeting the bright gazes all looking back at her in a sea of colors. Good lord, she hadn't liked making speeches in front of her twenty something numbered class, this was insane. She swallowed nervously and fidgeted, and Tristan turned to her with a small smile, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. 

Minutes later, there was a sudden bang as a door opened, and Belle appeared from the back of the dias, looking wild eyed and panicked as she carefully led Chopper along, or _tried_. She'd made him a white and blue leash apparently, because he was running at the end of it, sniffing at everyone, and generally scaring the fuck out of them all. He just wanted to be petted, as he hit the end of his lead and pawed at the air, barking curiously. Aurora grinned, and twisted, clicking her tongue, and he whipped around as if someone had shot at him. He started barking maniacally, and this time when he hit the end of his leash he pulled poor Belle along with him with a squeal. He landed in her lap, tail whipping back and forth, yapping constantly as if telling her all about it, and trying his damnedest to lick her face. She pushed him back down, roughing her hands over his head and laughing while he wallowed around until she shoved him into the floor. He stood and shook off, completely unphased. They had wrestling matches on the regular, this was nothing.

She took the leash from Belle, who looked too pale, staring steadily out at the court, and touched her hand to bring her gaze back. She wasn't looking directly at her again.

"Thank you Belle."

She jerked a nod, dropped a curtsy, and murmured back. "I will b-be right here when you w-wish me to return him t-to your chambers m-m'lady."

Aurora frowned as she scurried over behind a curtain, hid from view, and clasped her hands, standing still as she stared at the floor and was apparently going to literally wait for her. Uhm? Aurora turned back, and realized everyone in the room was staring at her in silence again, and she blinked at them.

  
"What? Oh, uhm, I mean... this is Chopper..... Say hi you little shit."

She mumbled at him, poking his head, and he barked happily, tail thumping against the throne as he sat at her side. Tristan looked like he was doing everything possible not to burst into laughter as she glanced at him, and it made her own lips twitch. Finally she broke into a smile, a real one, covering her mouth with her hand as she started to laugh.

"What are you looking at me like that for?"

He shook his head, swiped a hand across his face, and turned as the King stood and came over carefully, watching Chopper with wide eyes. The dog was panting, tongue lolling as he leaned against her leg, and she continued to scratch behind his ears.

"..may I?"

She looked from the king to chopper, who was closed his mouth and perked his ears as the figure came closer.

"Well of course. Chopper, _be nice_ and say hi."

_Be nice and don't slobber on the damned king..._

  
He stepped in front of her and sat down, head raised regally, and lifted a paw in the air for the King to shake. Uh oh. But the King was giddy as a small child, grinning as he bowed and took the offered paw.

"Good to meet you Sir Chopper. You have a fine mistress."

Chopper barked as if he understood, thumping his tail and turning to loll his tongue out at her. She laughed, and the King stood, looking at her curiously.

"What did he say?"

She froze. _Uhm?_

"A-ah... say? Ah, he barked... that's.. uhm... he can't talk? I mean... well.. don't you guys have animals here?"

The King nodded as if surprised she asked, and she sighed.

"He's an animal sir, a companion, trained to 'understand' some words, gestures, phrases, and the barking, growling.. there's no speech from him, but that, although I suppose its a language of its own."

"So he is not a familiar then?"

She shifted, lifting her shoulder in a shrug.

"Well, he's my companion, considered part of my family. But.. I'm not sure what you term a familiar, although I'm betting that would be a no, I don't really practice magic, so I've no need of a familiar..."

The King gaped at her, and sputtered. "How do you not practice magic?"

_Well_.

That sparked another long discussion, going about, a little, of religion, magic, how humans were now. Belle did return to take chopper, and Aurora thanked her again. She was sure he was hungry by now.

Finally the queen touched her husbands arm, garnering his attention.

"I hate to interrupt, but you have many people waiting on your decree on their problems.."

The King clapped his hands, startling everyone.

"Of course! We will continue these discussions later, I find them immensely entertaining! But I must hold court over my subjects. Would you like to stay and see how the king works?"

She blinked, mouth working, unsure, and Tristan turned, smiling, and gave her the barest nod. So she cleared her throat and met the king's gaze with a smile.

"Sure!"

 

 

Holy hell she had thought this was going to be kind of boring. 

She was wrong.

The arguments were over some crazy shit. Some funny though. Like two guys were fighting because one liked the other ones wife, and he said she loved him, didn't need to stay with the other guy because he treated her poorly. When the king asked how long they had been together, and they replied a couple hundred years, he terminated the 'marriage' on the spot and told the first husband he was shit out of luck, he should have treated his wife better. She was impressed, although he hadn't asked the woman, but then her opinion had been obvious, since she was clinging to the second guy and basically hissing at the first.

Not all of it was so entertaining, some was over disputes for land or property, which the King dealt with relatively quickly and efficiently. 

She thought three hours or so had passed, and she suddenly realized she needed to run to the freaking bathroom. And she was pretty damned hungry. 

She tugged at Tristan's hand, and he inclined his head. Before it had gotten too far underway, he had said not to speak without emergency if the king was listening or talking, so she simply showed him she wanted his attention at the next break in cases. Thankfully, it was less than ten minutes. The court erupted in a buzz of talking, and she was pretty sure most of the gossip, no matter the previous cases, was mostly about her. Tristan turned with a smile, leaning close so she could whisper in his ear.

"I totally need to go to the bathroom. Can we be excused?"

He frowned at her, confused. "Bathroom?"

_Shit_. She didn't know the word for fairy toilets. Now how the fuck was she supposed to explain this one? Her face flamed and she huffed as she slapped a hand over her face. 

"Dude seriously... uhm, I need to relieve myself. Like, that room where you clean up, and do the other stuff?"

Comprehension dawned, and he sat up straight.

"Oh! Of course! Forgive me, the washroom, you mean. Of course. I think its time for lunch anyway, and I could take you on a tour of the grounds. Would you like that?"

_Seriously_?

" _Hell Yes_!"

His eyes widened and he laughed. She saw movement, looking behind him as the King stepped up, and as her gaze shifted Tristan tensed slightly. Why though? Aurii dropped his hand on his sons shoulder, smile wide as he chuckled like the roll of giant boulders crushing together. Tristan didn't jump, just turned to look up at him.

"It is good to see you laugh so my son."

Tristan went red, and she watched with interest. _What was this now_? But then he cleared his throat.

"Thank you father, I was just about to ask if we could be excused? Aurora has not had time to break her fast, and I wanted to give her a tour of the grounds-"

"Of course!, of course! Go go, be young and merry, have fun! If you become bored, return before the last case and join us again, even if we are in the middle of one come on in, do not worry about all that pomp and circumstance today. Go have a good time."

Tristan looked surprised, but stood, tugging her to her feet with a smile.

"Of course father, thank you. We will return before the last case."

Aurii nodded, and then Tristan was pulling her away, and she was happy to go, even if she turned and waved her fingers at the King, then the Queen as she disappeared around the corner.

The door to the great court boomed closed behind them, leaving them alone, save for two more guards on either side of the doors. Sunlight continued to beam through the open archways, which this whole hallway seemed to be open like that, showing flowers and things that looked terribly enticing to go explore. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, she was suddenly up, being squeezed tightly against Tristan, and _way_ more feet off the ground than she naturally should be as he spun her around and threw back his head laughing.

"You were _amazing_ flower! That went perfectly well, and they all love you! You charmed all of them!"  
Highly doubted that.

But she laughed, putting her hands on his shoulders as the world spun. He was contagious.

"I doubt that, it was mostly you, but thank you Tristan."

"Come, come! Let me show you to the washroom, and then we shall get some lunch! We can picnic outside on this lovely day.."

"Sure hon, let's go. I'm freaking starving."

 

 

They had some really strange food here. But despite her complete abhorrence for trying new things, she wasn't going to go hungry. And there wasn't a burger king here. The thought made her smile, and she felt a pang for home. If her husband were here, he would be pretending to be horrified, asking if she were a changeling, since she was eating something different, and taking a picture to text to her mother for laughs.

"We will do everything we can, _I will do everything I can_ , to find a way to get you home flower, do not be sad."

She looked up, surprised, and feelt a little bad that she was being so transparent.

"Sorry Tristan, I don't mean to be a downer..."

"I do not know what that is, but I am sure your are not one."

She laughed, shaking her head.

"Well thank you hon."

"Really, try not to worry too much, we will find a way."

She smiled tremulously at him, not even protesting as he leaned over and squeezed her hand.

 

 

They talked for the next couple of hours, more in depth about what had happened, how she had gotten here, and he started telling her a little bit about how magick worked here in this world. He told her that this afternoon, after the courts were out, they were going to go talk to the scholars of the court. They could check the magic around her for traces, and see if she had any innate ability if her own. She only laughed, but he had smiled and shook his head. 

"I think you may be surprised flower, but we will see."

Then they were walking back to the courts, since his father had practically told him to show up. She walked at his side, hand looped through his arm as usual, feet quiet on the rose tinted stone walkway. Around them the trees swayed with a soft breeze, lifting her hair and sending it tangling over his. Animals moved through the woods around them, past the tall trees that resembled willows with white bark and gold and purple leaves. She realized that amidst everything else, she hadn't asked an important question yet. So she sighed, tilting her head back to look up at his profile, and at her scrutiny he turned to smile at her.

"Tristan... is there a reason that you labeled me your consort?"

His eyes went wide, and he flushed, reaching up to rub the back of his neck while he huffed a sheepish laugh.

"Well... this is one of the reasons I had hoped to be able to talk with you in depth about court politics before you suddenly had to appear, but it seems things did not turn out that way. Truthfully..."

She waited, and he raised his head, looking around surreptitiously, and she followed his gaze. There were few other people about, none close, although she had noticed two guards followed them at a respectful distance. But he suddenly moved as they reached a more overgrown part of the pathway, walking past the edges of the main building. She found herself with her back suddenly against the wall, gasping as she hit.

" _Tris-?!?_ "

He caught the back of her head before she breathed, threading his hands through her hair to held her still, putting the other on the side of her face, and fitting them together from thigh to chest. Her face flushed as her temper flared.

" _T'hell_ are you-"

He hissed softly, shushing her as he put his lips next to her ear, lowering his voice for her only.

"Listen, this is why I asked you to follow my lead here in front of others. Since I am the prince, there are many things that go on. I will explain the court politics as best I can, but we must be in private. There are plenty of factions that would take over the thrown, and several that would do so by any means necessary. There are also those who would.... try to take you, there are just many rules, and you haven't been properly taught them. Tonight, when we retire to my quarters, it is safe there, and we will speak at length. I can teach you what you need to know. But if you are my consort, you are far safer, I assure you this, it was a last minute decision to assure your safety. I would not have made such a claim otherwise, but we were both ill prepared to walk into the seelie court otherwise. I _am_ sorry, _please_ , just trust me on this okay?"

She lowered her eyes and hid her face against his shoulder when she heard someone walking by. Well, he _had_ saved her instead of drowning the random half dead human in the pond to save himself the trouble, so.... she could give him the benefit of the doubt, right? Plus, what she knew of the politics... he was right. She thought she might surprise him by how much she had a bit of knowledge of.

The footsteps going by paused, and then hurried on with soft murmurs and a feminine giggle. 

"Is that why you made it look like we were over here necking? So you could tell me that?"

He leaned back and looked at her, wide eyed and incredulous.

"Necking?"

She flushed bright red and actually giggled.

"Ah... being... _intimate_ ..over here.."

She mumbled, and recognition dawned in those tricolored eyes and he threw back his head with a laugh that rumbled through her this close. He gave her a smile, strangely charming around the edges, and he looked down then back up through his lashes.

"Well, perhaps it was a good excuse to get this close."

She snorted at him and pushed at his chest, making him chuckle.

"Get on there Rico suave, your dad is expecting us remember?"

He nodded and stepped back, taking her hand again lightly.

"Yes, I do. Come along flower, let us return."

She rolled her eyes and followed him out, shaking out her hair and smiling. He suddenly laughed, stopping her with a touch and she turned, raising an eyebrow.

"What..?"

His gaze went fond, and he reached up, plucking a few leaves and twigs out of her hair. She blinked in surprise then laughed too.

"Oh! Thank you.."

"I know what you need..."

She tilted her head curiously as she watched him raise his hands, make a few intricate gestures, and then cupped his hands together.

"What on... ah, what're you doin sug?"

He glanced at her, winked, and she halfway understood without him saying it: just wait, you'll see. 

So she watched as the air around his hands began to shimmer like the heat off pavement in the summer, and seemed to pull in to the space between his palms. Soft blue tinted light began to glimmer, glowing brighter as she watched, spellbound. After a few more seconds he straightened, turned to her and smiled with a flush on his cheeks. He looked uncertain, like a child bringing his mom his first drawing, unsure and hesitant, but so excited as his eyes twinkled. She put her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows curiously, and he opened his palms slowly. As he did, her jaw dropped, and all she could do was stare. 

There was a white rose bud in his hand, cupped between his palms, but as she watched it unfurled, folding out and blooming beautifully until the petals lay against his fingers, glittering in the sunlight. Then it went still, settling in, and she realized why it looked so odd, it was opalescent, reflecting a pastel prism of colors from every curve, and each petal was nearly translucent. It looked like a pearl made into a flower.

"Tristan... that's _amazing!_ What did... how...??"

She reached up to touch it tentatively, finding it as soft as a rose petal, and her breath left her lungs in a rush.

"That's the most beautiful thing.. it looks like a pearl! Do you.."

"It is."

"What?! Its a flower!"

He chuckled, turning it to show something along the bottom, like a simple clip, and reached for her.

"Yes, come here and I will explain."

She watched him warily, but stepped closer as his gesture, letting him turn her head to the side while she watched him from the corner of her eye. He was putting it in her hair, tucking it behind her ear!

"Tristan!"

"Shhh. My powers deal primarily with oceans...water... and anything associated with them. Therefore, I can create pearls, for example, and shape them the way I wish."

She was stunned, staying still as he stepped back to admire his handiwork, then nod to himself.

"It suits you flower. Now, let us go before my father sends out a guard looking for us."

"But ... this is..."

He put her hand in the crook of his arm again, pulling her along despite her still gaping at him like a fish out of water.

"It is nothing, a small gift. You do not wish to offend the High Prince of the Seelie court by refusing such a simple gift do you?"

His eyes danced with amusement, teasing as he grinned at her, and she pouted, looking forward and making him chuckle as he nodded. He had her and he knew it.

"That is what I thought."

She sighed, reaching up to brush the fingers of her free hand over it as they took the steps up into the main hallways again. They were silent a few moments, and finally she murmured, softly, but loud enough for him.

"Thank you Tristan, it's beautiful."

Inside though, where she locked it away lest she break down and have a meltdown the likes of which she hadn't had since her grandfathers death, guilt twisted and ate at her. Here, she was doing all this, and somewhere, some _time_ , her family was worried sick about her, her husband and son, her friends...

_Weren't they_?

 

 

They stopped outside the doors they had left the court from earlier, and she waited while he spoke to the guards. After just a moment, they explained they were in luck anyway, they were just fixing to start the last case. The way she had understood, they did not plan out the cases, simply took so many a day, or took more complaints or cases, until time for the court to be over. If the last case ran long that was one thing, but they wouldn't start more until the next day. She thought it sounded kind of like their own courts, in a much more relaxed manner anyway.

So they entered, quietly, but more confidently when they saw that the people were milling about and gossiping amongst themselves, and Aurii was leaned over speaking to Morrigan. 

She wondered if she was _The Morrigan_. 

_Naaaaah_.

They walked up and Tristan cleared his throat for their attention, inclining his head as they turned. Aurii gave a booming laugh and stood, clapping his hand on his son's shoulder heartily. Tristan didn't flinch so much as he jerked forward a few inches from the blow, and she wondered with a smile if Aurii did it on purpose.

Tristan straightened and looked heavenward as his father began going on, catching him up on what they'd missed, and while his son looked away, the old man glanced at her and winked, giving her a cheeky grin and she smothered a laugh.

Oh yeah, totally did it on purpose.

Tristan gave her a long suffering look, turning to lead her back to her same seat and giving her a mock glower at her obvious amusement. She looked closely at her chair, then sat gingerly, relaxing when nothing happened. Seriously, she was twenty five. She'd not been out of school _that_ long and she remembered the pranks.

This place seemed a lot more bloodthirsty under the glamour, and she was decidedly going to be much more paranoid. It was like high school again, and she looked down, keeping her amusement to herself. 

High school rules, never sit on, walk on, or touch, anywhere or anything that you haven't looked at closely with some attention, just a little. Never eat or drink anything that you didn't open yourself, or knew exactly what it was without hesitation. Never fall asleep around the others. And your peripheral vision was your best friend to dodge sneak attacks.

She had won many rounds of those games, because she paid attention.

She brought her attention back to the present, glanced around the room, which looked the same for the most part, and then up to Tristan, who was still standing just in front of his throne speaking to Aurii. She glanced past them at the Queen, whose lips were thinned, and she thought, had been looking at her. She blinked, looking at her curiously, and she seemed to turn just slightly to focus on her and then smile warmly. What had she been looking at, or thinking about, with _that_ kind of look on her face?

Aurora returned the smile tentatively, then dropped her eyes, not wanting to stare awkwardly. It left her looking down at Tristan's throne, and she paid more attention, looking across the handiwork that had gone into the piece. It was beautiful, and there was ocean scenery, waves and fish and swirling colors with pearls and moons decorated in the silver arms and around the cushions in the chair itself. Wait.

She frowned, leaning closer to look, and noticed something like a fracture in the throne itself, in the back. It seemed cut into it, right above shoulder height maybe, and was not in the cushion, but only in the rest and went around to the back, maybe a centimeter thick like something could come out. But the cushion had something pressing out, just a slight dip, in the center of where the fracture ran.

That didn't look comfortable, did it have like, springs in there? Like a couch or something... yeah of course.

She relaxed, wanting to roll her eyes at herself. She was too paranoid. 

Tristan seemed like he was going to sit down any moment, but he turned halfway at something his father said, glancing at her, she saw from the corner of her eye.

But she wanted to see if she could push the spring back in, or if it was just a design flaw. He did a double take to frown at her curiously as she bit her tongue between her teeth for added concentration, and even Aurii looked, chuckling. Tristan's amused voice reached her as she swept her fingertips over the hard ridge under the cushion. It didn't feel like a spring.

"What are you doing flower?"

"Seeing what this is..."

She muttered back, and he turned to fully face her, curious now.

"What?"

"...this, it looks uncomfortable."

And it would land right between his shoulders. They needed to make him a new throne. She pushed it, thinking it might flatten out, maybe move back in, and they could fix it later. There was a snick, and she started to smile, thinking she had fixed it. Then she saw a flicker, the glint off something silver, the flash as something moved, the ring of metal, and a sound like something slicing through the air. Her eyes went wide and she started yanking her hand back, flinching as she heard Tristan start to shout. Then there was a cold burning pain as something swiped across her cheek, a sick thud as she recoiled, panting, eyes wide as everything else froze. Then she realized she hadn't recoiled, her reflexes weren't that fast apparently, but Tristan's were. He had her up, crushed to him and three steps back from the throne. His eyes were wild, the white showing too much, she was sure hers were too, as everyone in the room stared in stunned silence at the Prince's throne.

She clutched her hands in his shirt as she started to shake, staring at the dual scythes that had erupted from each side of the throne at the press of the button, swinging around and inside in an x pattern, and embedded three inches at least into the chair.

_Criss crossing right where Tristan's neck would have been had he have sat down and triggered it himself_.

 

Aurii suddenly shook himself out of his stupor to bellow at the guards, pointing at the chair as his face reddened. It jerked everyone out of their shock.

" ** _GUARDS! I WANT THE TRAITOR FOUND THAT DID THIS_**! Take this thing out of my throne room and let the scholars have at it! _SOMEONE WILL BE EXILED FOR THIS_!"

A collective gasp rose from the onlookers as gossip erupted, and the guards rushed forward, speaking to the King as they began to carefully check the chair for more traps before moving it. Tristan turned to her, putting his hand on her chin to get her to look at him, tilting her head to see.

"You.. you are bleeding."

Was she? She reached up to touch it, remembering now the flare of pain, and felt the burn start. Of course, until she noticed it, it had been fine. She huffed, frowning as she felt the blood running down her cheek, it had cut her high up, below the eye but just barely.

"'Tis but a flesh wound,..."

She muttered it softly, thinking as she pulled back her hand to look at the red coating her fingertips.

"Never the less, you have saved my life Aurora... I cannot thank you enough.."

She glanced up at him, at the way he looked completely thunderstruck, and then it hit her.

Someone that was powerful enough, and maybe crazy or stupid enough, had just tried to kill the Prince of the Seelie Court, the High King's only heir to the throne, and she had foiled their plans.

Oh _shit_...

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one done!  
> Shit really kind of moves fast around here... in a way. Sort of.  
> Princes and Kings and blades oh my!


	4. Beginning of a Feud

 

Aurora twitched, going nearly cross eyed trying to watch Rosalyn lean forward to peer at her cheek. She was finally meeting one of the scholars/healers that Tristan had spoken of, and she sighed while the woman continued her ministrations.

Seriously though, it was a cut on her cheek. Stop looking at her like she was a frog under a microscope for fucks sake.

She heard a suspicious sounding snort and tilted her head to see the prince in question around the fluff of spiral strawberry and white blond curls in front of her. He looked far too amused at this, and she glowered, almost growling as he covered his mouth with his hand and smothered a laugh. The advisor of the guards had apparently given up trying to talk to him until they were done with her, because he wasn't paying attention to them at all. So she took the mature route, and stuck her tongue out at him.

His eyes went wide, and Rosalyn squawked indignantly, tapping her good cheek to make her turn back.

"Stop making lewd gestures at the prince until I am finished with you please M'lady!"

Aurora reared back, almost snarling as the woman held on to her chin and started, _finally_ , healing her cheek. She crossed her arms and sulked, muttering to keep herself distracted, because the soft pink light glowing from the woman's palm was disconcerting, as was the itching tingling feeling racing across her skin down to the bone. Tristan's laughter was barely contained now.

" _That's_ not lewd where I come from, you should _see_ lewd gestures where I come from."

The healer leaned back slightly, focusing on her with her eyes slightly narrowed. Hers were more like Tristans, with each color seeming to fade into the next, but they faded from a deep dark pink, to a lighter shade, then a lighter one, instead of a solid line of color like most of the others. _Serious much though?_

Finally she stepped back and nodded, clapping her hands together and turning to smile at Tristan. Aurora stared wonderingly as the woman practically simpered at him.

_Ohhh. Now she got it_.

"M'lady is as good as new your highness. Do you need anything else?"

He stood with a bright smile, nearly ignoring the woman as he came over and had to lean down to peer at her himself, touching her cheek gently and nodding.

"Ah-no, no. Thank you Rosalyn. Please send in Iridius for me as you leave, thank you."

The woman looked surprised, and then narrowed her eyes in a huff, curtsying almost to the ground, but while her eyes snapped fire her voice was as sweet and demure as ever.

" _Yes,_ your highness."

Aurora snorted, watched with a raised eyebrow, and the women silently snarled at her before whirling and striding out, ignoring the guard who stood with amusement plain on his face as he leaned against the wall. As she closed the door behind her, the guard turned and sent a cheeky grin at Aurora, who sent it back. She liked him already. Tristan frowned and turned, seeing who it was, and relaxed. 

"What is so amusing Stratos?"

Stratos? _Hmmm_...

"It would seem your new... _consort,_ -" the dry tone her was enough for her, he knew better, he'd been one of the two guards following them constantly. She had noticed.   
"-is making enemies left and right."

Tristan turned back to look at her, and she shrugged, trying to look innocent, which caused both of them to snort. Then he looked back at the guard and inclined his head.

"Aurora, since we have not had the time before, I would like to formally introduce you to the head of my personal guard, and my long time mentor and ever present pain, Stratos."

She barked a surprised laugh, slapping a hand over her mouth as she looked at the guard who grinned, proud of the title. He straightened and came over, bowing before her with flourish.

"I can certainly say it is a pleasure my lady."

He wore silver and white, and she wondered at it. It seemed that Tristan's guards all had silver, to define them from the Kings, and then another color mixed in of their own that matched their hair or eyes. His hair was the dark deep gray of storm clouds boiling across the horizon, long like all the others, but pulled into an intricate braid that went down his back. He had that moon lit skin much like the prince as well, but to her, he looked like he was one of the Spartan's stepping off the screen from that three hundred movie she'd watched. Most of his guard did, and she thought it kind of funny. She wasn't trying to explain that yet.

When he straightened, seeing she had held out her hand, he looked pleased; she kept forgetting they didn't shake hands here. Tristan was already rolling his eyes, grinning, and she wondered what she had done now. But Stratos took her attention again as he took her hand, staying bowed over it as he rolled his eyes to look up at her with a roguish smile and wink before kissing the back of her hand.

She just laughed.

"I can see why he is a pain Tristan."

The prince grinned triumphantly, while Stratos feigned hurt, stomping over to pout in the corner with his arms crossed. He glanced back over while they laughed, lips twitching, and she shook her head.

"You two are terrible, almost like siblings.."

They all turned at the knock on the door, and just as quickly Tristan and Stratos wiped all traces o humour from their faces. She sighed as the guard walked over to check over the newcomer before allowing them in.

She was going to have to get the hang of this instant change crap. She could act pretty well, hell she had a leg up just because she was a female, but this was ridiculous. 

Stratos turned and nodded at Tristan before stepping back and allowing in the other Sidhe. This one though, seemed... _different_. As in, she sat up straight and completely forgot her manners to stare at him, and ignore the bag someone handed Stratos that he put on the ground by the door.

First of all, he just seemed older. Up to now, despite very small differences, all of the sidhe had seemed young, and the same, like they had reached a certain age and stopped aging. He had too, but he had the faintest marks, like laugh lines flaring out from the corners of his eyes and mouth. He was lean and willowy, with skin that was white. Maybe a little more translucent than literal white paint, but he did seem to kind of shimmer, she thought. His hair was odd though, strangely beautiful, it was thick, long like the rest and fluttering around him as he walked, but it took in the light around him, reflecting it with a prism of colors. As he came closer she realized it was like a crystal, fractured looking, ran through with every color imaginable.

She knew she was staring, but he was paying her no mind, talking to Stratos and Tristan both about her, she was sure, what they wanted him to do maybe. He moved with the strangest grace, like he floated over the ground, and he wore a robe of sorts, with the long bell sleeves that fell back to his elbows as he gestured, pure white except for the gold and silver threaded designs that seemed stitched around the collar and hems. 

He finally turned to her, and she thought, something is very different about this one.

He smiled, a soft, gentle ,movement like she was a frightened animal, and she kind of felt like one. Something crawled up her spine, tickled across her nerve endings, and seemed to hum deep in her chest. It made her go wide eyed, staring at the man as he came closer, still moving slowly, and she wondered if he knew what he was doing. If it was on purpose. Tristan and Stratos were watching, completely focused, almost surprised she thought. The man wasn't even close to her yet, still several feet away, and she didn't know what would happen when he reached her, but she was kind of starting to freak out.

Wind seemed to circle him, brush through his hair, and send it tinkling like musical chimes, but each step was like thunder, striking through her and hitting a chord that resonated hard enough to shake her teeth. But now that he'd set his eyes on her, caught her in his gaze, she couldn't look away. With each strike, that breath catching feeling of power building brought her chest tighter, the feeling arcing over her nerves like lightening now, and her heart hammered in her chest. 

His eyes flickered, and he was suddenly close enough for her to see. His eyes weren't tricolored, light moved behind them as he smiled, illuminating them, and they were almost like perfectly cut pieces of prisms, and a rainbow hued multitude of light danced around her as he stopped just shy of touching her. The light seemed to get brighter as he unfolded his hands, holding them out, palms up, and then he just waited. She wanted to look at Tristan, or even Stratos, see what they were doing, what he wanted her to do, but she couldn't. She continued to stare at him as her heart thundered, blood rushing frantically through her veins, and she didn't-

_Take my hand child, if you wish to learn the magic of our world_.

She twitched, just barely, at his voice, it was at once the soft breathe of air over a field of flowers, and the roaring of a tornado. 

_His mouth never moved_.

Did she want to do this? This was insane! She felt like she was going to fly apart at the seams, break into a million pieces and never be able to reform. It felt like a great looming thing that if she grabbed onto it, her life would forever change. Did she really know what she was doing? Did she really have to do this?

What if it was the only way home?

She brought her hands up, pushed through the power boiling around her like a great storm, felt it searing across her skin, and grabbed onto his.

His lips twitched up just the tiniest bit, and then the light behind his eyes poured out under his skin, lighting up her world as he closed his hands around hers like bands of iron. She gasped, throwing back her head like she had grabbed a live wire, and everything inside seemed to catch and explode. The light grew brighter, ate up everything she knew, and then there was only the dark.

 

When she came to, it was like she'd been underwater, she came up gasping for air and fighting. 

"Aurora! It is okay Aurora it is okay! Be calm!"

Something pinned her wrists down to stop her swinging, and she bucked, twisting and getting halfway loose. Nothing made any sense, there was so much light, so much sound and feeling and her nerves were _popping and her heart was hammering but her lungs were restricting as panic set in and_ -

" _Aurora_! Stratos catch her legs before she hurts herself!"

The shadows moved, things with great blurry colors swarming around them, and then there was a weight on her legs. The panic ratcheted up as she started to curse and scream. There was a sudden slam, a heavy thud and crash and scrabbling, then a loud, deep bark. 

The weights all lifted off of her as the sound ricocheted through her like a bell. Some of the fog lifted, and she curled into a ball, shaking, teeth chattering, covering her face as she tried to focus. There was a low growling behind her, and she shook her head, pressing deeper into the pillow under her cheek. Pillow?

"Ch-chopper ..?? C-c'mere.."

The scrabbling sounded again and the bed dipped, jerked as something bounced across it and landed halfway on her with a whine. She grunted and shoved him off, breathing now, calming down, and wound her arm around him and pressed her face into his fur. He curled up beside her and lay his head on her arm, watching behind her, and she heard a tentative footstep before he started rumbling a low warning.

"Shh-shhhh Chopper shhhussssssh."

He quieted, but was still watching, hackles raised. It took her a few minutes, and finally it felt like everything was fit back into place, like her head wasn't splitting apart, like she wasn't floating into different pieces or crumbling into sand and being blown away on the breeze.

"Aurora, are you alright?"

Tristan! She sat up and turned at the soft voice, wild eyed and open mouthed. 

" _What the **HELL** happened_?!"

He and Stratos looked wide eyed, and both took a step back, sharing a quick look.

"W-well, ah... you see, it is Iridius's job to teach children to control their powers, but first he must awaken them. He is the best teacher and mentor, because he has the most control, the best abilities suited to helping control the surge of power from a Sidhe's powers awakening.. and.. that was ....your power awakening."

She stared at him in silence, feeling a twitch beginning under her eye, and practically snarled.

"And does every child pass out? What went wrong? Or didn't go at all? Was it because I didn't have any?"

They both paled a little, and Tristan looked at his guard. Stratos shook his head and threw up his hands.

"No! Not my job Prince, she's _your_ Consort!"

Tristan huffed at him, and she started to growl. He whipped back around and held up his hands placatingly.

"Now flower, everything went fine! You _do_ have power, a.. well, a good bit of it."

She stared at him in silence for several heartbeats, and then she tilted her head suspiciously.

"Riiiight.... and?"

The prince shifted from foot to foot and looked at the ground.

"Most.. Sidhe have one, or two, elements or specific things their power targets. Some are more in depth, some more general. Such as mine is a higher power, on perhaps the seventh tier, over any and all things associated with the oceans or seas, the water, tsunamis, hurricanes, the flora and fauna... my power over fresh water is perhaps a tier two. The power is fickle... the Sidhe themselves figure out what their power is over, with a little help from Iridius. He can usually get at least a feel for their future power level, and what their special powers are over..."

He shifted and swallowed, looking around, and she waved an irritated hand.

"Tristan! Over here! Spit it out! What's wrong with me?"

"We... Iridius does not know.. he... thinks he felt elemental power from you..."

She nodded, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them as she looked at him, as her stomach started to feel sick.

"Well, that's....?"

Both men looked at her, and their expression went serious.

"The power of each element, of healing, of animals... he could feel no specific speciality from you. But your tier was at a three now. With no training, no prior abilities, your power has awoken where most uneducated children's power is below one."

She stared at him as something fluttered in her stomach and scraped up the sides of her ribs. They were _wrong_.

"Well... that's..."

"That has never happened before."

"Well, it doesn't matter, he'll have to do it again."

Tristan and Stratos both looked shocked at her statement as she set her mouth in a mulish line.

"Why would you say such a thing?"

She shifted her gaze to the ground.

"I'm human guys, I don't think I have any magic, and if I do its not something that special. There's no way, he had to have seen his own or something. It was a glitch in the damned matrix."

The two shared a look, a frown, and Stratos shrugged.

"Iridius has never been wrong..."

"I guess there's a first time for everything isn't there?"

There was a heavy silence where they stared at her, and she just sat, back slumped, arms tightly around her knees. Finally Tristan walked over, lay a tentative hand on her shoulder.

"You have had a long day... get some rest. Tomorrow the tailor will be back to make you a wardrobe, and that will be first thing after breakfast.. we will see Iridius again after that. Just.... do not give up flower."

He stood there a moment longer, waiting for a response, a smile, a nod, maybe even a curse, but she stayed silent, and finally he sighed. He swept his hand over her head, pushing her hair back from her face.

"If you need me I will be in my quarters, you have but to shout."

She glanced up at his back as he turned and left, watched Stratos move to follow him, stopping at the door to glance back at her. She met his gaze, seeing something there she didn't understand. He inclined his head as he pulled the door shut softly behind him.

"Until the morrow my lady."

Behind her Chopper pushed his nose against her, whined softly, and she sighed, feeling like a sail that had lost its wind. She reached up and flipped the light by the bed off, some damned magic run spell that they had fixed so that she could adjust as she wanted that looked like a lamp, then just flopped back onto the bed. With a halfhearted shove at the dog, she yanked up the covers and wiggled under them while he pawed at her and wagged his tail. When she finally got still, he crawled up on his belly, looking pitiful until she threw an arm over him, and he put his head down, nose just under her chin where she lay on the pillow. She stared across the bed at the far wall, out the wide set of windows that looked over the gardens. The full moon shone down over an alien landscape, with twinkling stars of different colors glimmering brightly in the distance, and low on the horizon rose a second moon, a pale blue crescent that shadowed the other.

Choppers breath evened out as he fell asleep and she stared out the windows, watched the moons roll across the sky for the next few hours. She wasn't sure when the silent tears started to fall, but at least the moons were the only witnesses this time.

 

\-----

 

She awoke to a soft knocking on the door, and cracked open her eyes with a groan. Sunlight fell in warm beams over the bed, and as she started to stretch the behemoth awoke. He started thumping his tail, then halfway stood and stretched, yawning right in her face with that gator mouth of his and making her gag.

"Ah f-kin _HELL_ you stanky asshole git off me! Yaarg!"

She shoved at him and rolled out of the bed, stumbling and straightening with a wince and scrubbing at her face. She was still in her dress from yesterday, hair every damn where, feeling icky and scritchy and bad. She made a face at the door and sighed.

"Yeah?"

Belle's voice floated through.

"I'm here with breakfast my lady, and to help you get..ready for the tailor."

She looked down at herself and snarled up her nose.

"Oh god please Belle, I really need a shower."

She turned back and roughed her hands over Choppers head, petting him until she heard Belle's footsteps pause behind her.

"Good morrow my lady..."

"G'morning Belle. Thank you-"

"Oh my!"

She turned, and Belle almost screeched, jerking hard enough that the tray in her hands rattled precariously and nearly tipped some of the food over. With a shaking hand she quickly dropped the tray onto the bed and reached for her. Aurora went wide eyed, fear curling through her stomach as the maid started rubbing her fingers over the spot where she'd gotten cut yesterday.

"What? What Belle?! What's wrong with my face?!"

She pulled back, looking so worried she thought the maid was going to faint, then turned and hurried to the door. She flung it open and practically hissed at someone.

"Stratos! Come here!"

"Well m'lady I'm guarding the prince right now but if you need my time later-"

Belle looked back at her, face flushed, and stomped her foot, gesturing and hissing at him again.

"Stratos come here now! _It is the Mistress_!"

Aurora was still standing there slack jawed, halfway resisting the urge to snicker at the rogue guard, when she heard his footsteps coming to the door.

"What is wrong with - _o-oh....._."

Aurora started flushing as her temper went to kicking up several notches. 

"What the _hell_ are you two gaping at?"

There were more footsteps behind them, and suddenly Tristan appeared in the doorway, looking half asleep, blinking blearily at the three of them.

"What is this commo-...."

He trailed off, pushing past Belle and Stratos who looked a little pale, and a lot uneasy. The closer he got the more thunderous Tristan's face became, hair billowing around him, still shirtless and apparently just now getting awake, his scowl pulling his expression into harsh lines as he stopped in front of her. The blue marks along his arms stood out as a pulse of pale light washed under his eyes, and she watched him take in a long slow breath, clenching his fists at his side. Then he raised a hand and touched his fingertips to her cheek, moving gently over the same place, and the moment of hesitation she'd had at his expression vanished.

" _What_ is everyone looking at?"

His eyes narrowed, flashed again, and Stratos looked positively gleeful; in a six and a half foot tall armed to the teeth Spartan kind of way. It was a bit intimidating truthfully.

"It would seem our fair Rosalyn has let her jealously overtake her good sense."

Tristan turned, looking at Belle, and his voice was like the crash of waves against the shore as his hand shook against her.

" _Tell Wraith to bring her to me. Now_."

Rosalyn had healed her, and left a jagged red and pink scar across her cheek in place of the cut. Apparently it was her version of a practical joke that didn't show up for a few hours. Aurora thought she might just stab her in her pretty little face.

If that was how the bitch wanted to play, she would find out she had made a terrible mistake.

Tristan turned back, raising an eyebrow as she muttered and snarled under her breath.

"Fucked up, this bitch has. End her, I will."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I throw in lots of random pop culture references....  
> *sigh* I blame Dean Winchester. It's all his fault...


	5. No Magic Yet

They didn't wait long. Apparently Wraith took his orders quite literally, or perhaps he was a friend of the prince like Stratos, and was getting just as much enjoyment out of it. She doubted it though, because Stratos was still looking gleeful fifteen minutes later.

Tristan went back to his room to wait on her, letting her go off and take her shower and clean up. She even ate a little breakfast when she came out, dressed and ready to go. Stratos stood in the open door between their rooms, leaned against the door with his arms crossed, grinning, and Belle looked ready to smite something. Aurora took her sweet friggin time, which seemed to amuse Stratos even more.

 _She was completely not doing it on purpose. Pffft_.

When she came around the corner on silent feet, Stratos simply straightening to allow her by, she saw them standing there, talking. Rosalyn reached up and lay a hand on the prince's chest, batting her eyelashes up at him. At least he had put a shirt on, but she was acting like it was funny and he had called her up here for something else. Aurora felt her back go ramrod straight, and the temper she had been genetically gifted with that lay dormant most of the time, (thank you mother), stirred like a dormant volcano. 

She started over and they both turned. She could see the way his face was twisted with obvious disdain and anger, and how hers changed to a haughty amusement. Aurora stopped at Tristan's side, smiling sweetly, and noticed Stratos came up on the other side of them, suddenly doing a double take at her expression. Tristan seemed surprised.

" _Darlin_ , can't Iridius snap his fingers and do this himself?"

Tristan looked between them but nodded once, obviosly confused at the suden change. Her smile widened as Rosalyns face darkened.

"Good. Then she's of no use."

Aurora turned while Rosalyn sputtered, cocked her fist, and punched her square across the face. The woman pinwheeled with a shriek as she clutched at her face, blood already starting to pour from her nose. Belle went wide eyed and covered her mouth, but Stratos and Wraith both bent double as they roared with laughter.

Tristan turned to her with one eyebrow raised, lips twitching as he crossed his arms.

"Feel better?"

Rosalyn was still screeching and sputtering, acting as if she had actually stabbed her in the face. She was still thinking seriously about it. _Prissy bitch_.

"Yep."

Tristan threw back his head and laughed finally, then made a gesture at Wraith, who stepped forward, still laughing. He was like a copy of Stratos but a bit leaner, less muscled. He moved like a shadow, something sleek and deadly that was there and gone before you knew it. She had noticed him already, of course, since he was always with Stratos and they were the two that followed them everywhere, but this was the closest she had seen him. His skin was gray, his hair black as pitch, and his eyes were that reflective yellow you saw staring at you from the shadows of the woods with a circle of black around it. _Yeah, not going to fuck with that guy_. 

But he grinned at her, still chuckling as he took Rosalyns arm, none too gently as he started to lead her away amidst her protests and threats.

"This isn't over!" 

Rosalyn hissed at her around Wraith, and Aurora snarled.

"Bring it on bitch."

The door was slammed as Wraith went out and there were a few moments of silence while they all kind of took a keep collective breath to calm down. Tristan rubbed his fingers over his temples and sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"Let us go see Iridius before the tailor arrives."

"Can we let Chopper walk with us since Belle made him a leash?"

He looked at her curiously, and she mimicked the thing around his neck.

"Like, the lead? She made him the little twisty rope thing to keep him from running everywhere because he's crazy."

"Oh! Well, certainly flower. I am sure he would like the fresh air."

She grinned and went back to get him.

 

When she came back out with him they all started towards the solar rooms where he went to teach, perform magic, or whatever the hell it was the magic scholars did in their spare time. 

"To the bat cave!"

Chopper gave a happy bark as if agreeing, walking along beside her calmly. Tristan glanced at her curiously but didn't ask. As they continued passing people, she wondered why the damned dog was suddenly so weirdly calm. He was always crazy, and usually trying to bounce up and lick everyone's face, but today he seemed content to walk along with her. Huh. 

When they reached the rooms, Iridius looked surprised to see them, and then irritated when they explained. She thought for a moment it was at her, but then he rolled his eyes.

"If she wishes to use her powers in such a child like fashion, then she can begin her training from level one again. One does not use their power in such a way."

Aurora snickered, and then Stratos told him what she had done. She flushed and stuck her tongue out at him, and Iridius laughed. 

It took him only seconds to remove the thing from her cheek, and she stood very still. Warmth radiated across her face as his hand hovered over the mark; it was much less itchy or annoying than when pinkie had done it. She realized, once he was finished and she took a long clean breath, scrubbing at her face as he stepped back, that Chopper had kind of wandered off. As Iridius turned and spoke to Tristan for a moment, she frowned and went to looking for him.

"Chopper... hey! T'hell are you doing! Get away from that you little shit..."

She muttered at him, and he turned and gave a low woof, wagging his tail, but kept sniffing. She walked over as Tristan and Iridius stopped talking to see, and she put her hands on her hips, tilting her head curiously. 

"Is that your throne Tristan?"

He stepped up beside her as he sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Yes. They brought it to Iridius in the hopes that he could distinguish which magic signature it was that tampered with it, but he cannot. There are so many layered on it, because of how many people are around it, that he could not label any in particular."

Chopper seemed completely intent on sniffing all around the slots where the blades had come out. Tristan touched her arm and tilted his head towards the doors. 

"Come, we do not want to keep the tailor waiting."

She nodded and tugged at Chopper, who gave a final oddly direct sniff at the throne and then followed along after them. What a strange dog.

 

 

Back in their rooms, she let Chopper off his leash to run around and plopped down into one of the oversized chairs. There was quiet for a moment as Tristan and Stratos finished their conversation with Wraith who was posted at the door. 

"Hey... guys?"

They both turned to her curiously, and she shifted, looking down at the sea blue chair she sat in.

"Ah... why exactly do you think I need to learn magic?"

There were several beats of uneasy silence, and she didn't look up until Tristan's boots came into her line of sight, stopping just in front of her seat.

"This is something I was going to go over with you more.. but there is no way to trace the spell that brought you here. You remember me telling you about the slaugh and all of that the first night?"

She nodded without looking up as the bottom fell out of her stomach, making her heart twist. He knelt down in front of her, setting his hands on her knees, and she glanced up at him finally.

"There is but one way we could think of flower. And it is a spell that one can only do if they have been to the place they wish to go to before..."

She stared at him a moment in stunned silence. "That's why you want me to learn magic? You think I could take myself home?!"

He nodded, giving her a smile that showed her completely believed it. Was he _crazy_? _She_ couldn't do any magic!

"Tristan I cant-"

They stopped at a knock on the door and he stood, patting her knee once as Stratos answered the door and turned back with an overly exaggerated roll of his eyes. She stood and touched Tristan's arm lightly.

"I-I'll be right back.."

"Of course."

"M'lord, it is Marcellus, here to see the Mistress."

He gestured as she stepped into the next room, and she walked over to lean against the window, pressing her forehead to the cool pane. She just had to breath, it would be okay. They would find a way to get her home-

 _Because they were wrong_. She didn't have any magic. If she did... she would have done so many things, helped, changed things.. she didn't have magic. 

It took several long deep breaths, in through her nose and out of her mouth, before the tight bands in her chest started to loosen. Finally she turned and straightened her shoulders, swiped a hand across her face, and paused at the door. The new voice was smooth, oily, and kind of whiny. She frowned.

"So where is my newest commission M'lord?"

She heard Stratos cough, and then Tristan sighed. 

"Aurora dearest, are you ready?"

She rolled her eyes, lips twitching, and stepped through the door way. It was then she first saw the 'great tailor'. She stared in silence. 

The guy was standing beside Tristan, a full head shorter, waving his arms as he gestured about something he said. He was in a tunic that looked like it was made of fire. It was beautiful, fading from the red to orange and edged in yellow, all vividly colored and shifting as he moved. The neck was in a deep v, showing off that he had pale, rosy colored skin, and several necklaces layered around his thin neck. The sleeves ended in ragged tatters at his elbows, and it showed off more shimmering gold jewelry at his wrists that clinked musically with his gestures. His pants matched the shirt, made of the same glittering material, ragged around the bottom like it was fire come to life, over a pair of soft looking white boots. Eew.

He turned, sending his hair cascading around him, and she saw it was a light blonde, mixed with streaks of deep ruby red and a hot burnished orange, feathering out around his face and across his shoulder in wispy strands. He had severe lines for his face, high cheekbones and a long nose, and she wondered if he had purposely tried to make himself resemble a phoenix. Then she saw his eyes, and thought he had to have, to have that much pomp and glitter that didn't match his eyes. They were still pretty, but much softer, with a bright soft ring of grey inside, lavender on the next, and a pale baby blue on the outside. 

He met her gaze for a moment before sweeping his look over her and she could read it easily, calculating, planning, thinking. But she wasn't sure it was all aimed at the part of making her a wardrobe. He smiled, and it looked bright, charming, and sharp at the edges. She thought of a shark suddenly.

"Ahh! It is an absolute delight fair lady! I am Marcellus, the Head Tailor for for Seelie Court. I have already heard much about you..."

She thought seriously about asking if he'd heard it from Rosalyn, and then to tell him where to shove it. But she took in a deep breath and smiled sweetly, chastising herself. No she would be good. 

_Until_ she had reason not to be.

"Well I'm flattered sugar, I sure hope all of it wasn't just too awful..."

His eye twitched, and she heard a snort from one side of her. So maybe she was laying on the southern charm just a wee bit thick... Marcellus finally shook it off and beamed at her.

"Of course not! Now, let us begin!"

He gave a little clap of his hands with the end of his sentence, and Stratos, who she just noticed, seemed to twitch. He was standing against the far wall with his back in a corner, arms crossed, feet braced apart, staring stonily at the extraordinarily flamboyant Sidhe in the middle of the room. There was sooooome kind of history there, and she was totally going to find it out later. 

She inclined her head and gestured as if asking where he wanted her. His eyes went wide and he snapped as if having forgotten something and turned this way and that before he found his bag and gestured at it. _Holy shit_. It slid across the floor to his feet. _Just like that_.

He made a few more gestures, and the party seemed to really start. The bag popped open, and lots of tiny little things, things she could fit in her palm, floated out.

 _Oh this was some Mary Poppins meets fantasia shit right here_.

He was practically juggling things, floating them around, and made another flick of his fingers, and they popped back to their regular size. _Well then_.

In just a few more minutes he had a five paneled mirror for her to stand in the center of, a little round stool of sorts for her to stand on, and more bolts of fabric, buttons, snaps, ribbon, string, and tools that she thought he could even remotely use. Now that was a pretty nifty packing trick right there.

"That's pretty impressive.."

He startled and turned to her with surprise in his eyes and then flushed. For a moment he looked a bit lost and she wondered why before he recovered and smoothed his hand over his outfit, almost preening. Ugh, she was going to be sick.

"Thank you my lady. Now, My Lord, what all are we getting her outfitted for?"

She stepped up at his behest on the stool, turning at the question, and seeing Tristan thinking. She swore the man did at little clap at the end of every other sentence he made, and she turned to look at Stratos. He twitched every time the guy clapped, still standing in the corner behind Tristan. Poor thing. How much of this had he endured? She shuddered at the thought. 

"She will need a few things suitable for the royal court.. things for her magic training-"

Marcellus looked surprised, but Tristan continued without noticing.

"She needs some casual things of her choosing of course..."

He frowned and turned to look at Stratos, who lifted an inquiring brow.

"Stratos, is there something you are aware of that I am forgetting? Something else she needs something for?"

He stared for a moment before a decidedly evil smile curved his lips, and Tristan flushed.

"Stratos-"

His tone was a warning growl, and the guard laughed, glancing at her curious expression and winking. _Oh_. She started to laugh, and Tristan rolled his eyes, smacking a hand over his face.

"Actually she may need something special for the Summer solstice."

Tristan popped himself on the forehead and sputtered, turning back to gesture at Marcellus.

"Of course! I had forgotten, she will need something special for the Summer solstice celebration... you may want to wait on that one though Marcellus... it would be better if you could suit it to her powers, so give that one perhaps a few weeks..."

Marcellus inclined his head, then turned to her and smiled, clapping his hands again. Stratos twitched.

"Let us begin! Strip!"

She stared at him then barked a laugh.

"Are you for real? There's no fuckin way."

He stared at her aghast, and she crossed her arms, staring him down mutinously. In the corner Stratos snickered, and Tristan looked pained.

"Dearest we must have you fitted for clothing -"

"Then I will strip to my underwear, but that's it, or something like a shift."

The snicker in the corner got louder, and she watched Tristan trying his best not to laugh.

"Okay then explain to him what you will agree to so that he can take his measurements."

She looked at Marcellus who was quite obvious, at least to her with his back turned to the prince, about rolling his eyes. 

Ten minutes later she was in a black shift with little spaghetti straps that barely fell to mid thigh, but it covered everything. She'd stepped into the next room to change into it too. 

She did have _some_ modesty for fucks sake. _Not much_ , but some.

She walked back in, knowing her cheeks were a bit red, and Stratos was the first to notice her, since Tristan was going over a notebook of dress designs, drawings and things, with Marcellus. She stopped and looked at him and he made a show of looking her head to toe and winking with a cheeky grin. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped, and the other two looked up then. Marcellus seemed unimpressed, going back to the book with a few mutters, and she met Tristan's gaze which had went a little wide, and his cheeks darkened. He quickly jerked his gaze back to the book as Marcellus pointed at something, and she stared for a moment. Hell, she expected it from Stratos, he meant it in jest, mostly anyway, he had the morals of an alley cat, and she liked him. But was Tristan actually _looking_ at her like that?

She shook her head and returned to her designated post on the stool.

Marcellus brought her the book, and they muttered, half assed argued, sniped at each other, and she told him flat out several things that were a _hell no_ , some maybes, and some she liked. She liked comfortable, wispy things that were light, flowy, with rounded necklines, no v's, no randomly cut out panels in the stomach, no completely open backs, no skin tight anything or long sleeves. She hated long sleeves. She liked off the shoulder things, long gowns, short wide skirted dresses, things like that. She was not wearing 'princess' ball gowns, poofy things, she could take a few ruffles, stressing the word few. Maybe the occasional sparkle, not tons of beads or buttons or big crazy bows. No fucking bows. The shoes had been a simple enough affair to explain too.

Marcellus seemed ready to pull his hair out, but Tristan agreed with everything she said, and then had to add that he thought it would be easier on the tailor anyway, since her designs were pretty simple really. He hadn't agreed, he thought her designs too simple. She didn't give a rats ass because he wasn't wearing them, she was.

They worked out what she thought would be some beautiful gowns. He did in fact have a gift for his trade, she would give him that. One he realized he couldn't talk her out of the few decisions she'd made he gave in and the rest went smoothly. He showed her plenty of fabrics, all of which were stunning, and let her choose the colors she wanted, making a few suggestions here and there. She had to have some of the princes 'colors' too, of course, especially for the particularly formal things like visiting the court. 

Then it was time for the actual measuring portion, where he had to take his little cloth measuring tape and run it along and around her and mumble to himself and talk to her about different things and flick his fingers at the pad of paper and pen floating near him to scribble down what he read off.

Which was strange enough, but that's where it started to go downhill.

Where she kind of started to fear for his life. A little.

He started by measuring her neck, then to her shoulder, down her arm, all of that. It was when she held her arms up and he stopped in front of her to measure down her side, smoothing the tape from her under arm to her waist, that things started to get a bit dicey. She hadn't noticed at first, truthfully she probably wouldn't have, or would have ignored him completely unless he flat out groped her, even if he was being overly flirtatious all of a sudden. It wasn't her business, and she didn't give a damn, (hey whatever cranks your tractor), but she was relatively certain that this one preferred the opposite sex. It wasn't a thing among the seelie, they were all overly promiscuous and 'free' with their attentions, to be pretty blunt about it, except for those that were mated. So again, not important, she never thought about it.

Then when he stepped right up into her personal space, every time, to wind the tape measure around her for the measurements around her hips and abdomen, which were apparently thirty different ones or so, she noticed. Not because of him, but because the third time he did it, leaving his hands a little too long, looking up at her through his lashes with some weird little, (she guessed that it was suppose to be flirtatious), smirk on his face, the room seemed to ripple. Little bursts of electricity skittered across her skin, causing her to shiver and turn to look towards the suddenly heavy presence. When she saw what it was, she stopped breathing for just a heartbeat.

Tristan had his arms crossed, feet braced apart, and was staring down the little tailor who seemed perfectly giddy with the attention and ignoring it. But his hair was starting that little wave it got sometimes, like water washing up on the beach and pulling back in the tide. His eyes seemed darker, like deep water, lit by the occasional slow roll of murky light flitting across the colors. She knew Marcellus was still measuring her, but she was completely ignoring him for the moment. What was wrong with him?

"Tristan...?"

He twitched, seemed like he was about to turn to look at her, but then Marcellus dropped to one knee in front of her, trailing the tape from her hip to her knee, smoothing his hand as he went, and the Prince's lip seemed to lift in a silent snarl. Was he getting... _mad at Marcellus_? Not that she would complain, she didn't particularly like him either, but.... _why_?

The tailer measured her knee to foot, then her feet, and she continued to look at the simmering prince.

"Tristan."

This time he moved, a slow tilt of his head to refocus that stare on her, and he took in a deep breath. She felt those weird electric tingles sweep over her again, and noticed Stratos straightening up from his reclining position against the corner.

  
"Yes, flower?"

Even his voice had taken on an edge, working on being that angry rumble of the ocean during a storm, and she couldn't quite resist the shudder that slid down her spine.

"I-is everything... alright?"

He nodded, movements still slow, and gave he the briefest of half smiles before turning to look at Stratos. Her attention was brought back by a tap on her ankle and she looked down.

"I need to measure your inseam m'lady, you'll have to-"

"No."

They both turned and looked over in surprise, and Tristan looked thunderous.

"But my lord-"

He slashed his hand through the air and stared at the tailor with a dark scowl.

"You have made her uncomfortable enough by making her stand in that shift before us while you measure her, you will not do anything else to upset her. I think you need to make the few things that we agreed she should have now, and let us all be on our separate ways, we have much to do today."

She nearly protested, just that he wasn't bothering her at all, out of habit really, but she decided, no. It looked to her like Tristan was more upset than she was. _But why? Was he friggin jealous_?

She stared at him a moment, and when he noticed the look he flushed and dropped his gaze.

Holy fucking shit though, really? Over _her_???

Marcellus took the cue, and she suddenly realized the little shit looked nervous as he put up most of his stuff save for what he was about to use. That little shit had been purposely baiting the prince. She scowled at him, feeling her own temper flare, and she wanted to strangle him. What was wrong with him? Was he daft?

He finally pulled out and found a beautiful teal fabric that seemed like cotton and wove it around her, adding deep blue ribbons threaded down the sides of the skirt, which was wide and flowy but lightweight, and silver accents along the hems. Then he added straps at the top that were white with a soft ruffle, which would thankfully keep the sweetheart neckline held up. She just didn't do strapless anything except a corset. She saved him the trouble of making her something to sleep in by saying the shift would be perfectly fine, it was like a little black silk nightgown anyway, and so he quickly made her a matching long sleeved robe that would drag the floor and tie around her.

With a few quick gestures he sent everything shrinking and tumbling back into his bag that he snapped closed and picked up with a simpering smile aimed at her, then Tristan.

"These will be done by the morrow my lord, I will have them sent to... your chambers sir?"

In the corner Stratos rolled his eyes, and Tristan muttered a terse agreement. Marcellus practically ran out the door, and a collective breath of relief passed through the whole room. She held her robe and dress to her chest and grinned at them.

"What an annoying little fucker. Ugh! I'm going to change. Are we really going to go do some stuff?"

Tristan seemed to be returning to normally quickly, and he gave her a small smile.

"Yes flower, we have some time to kill until lunch. After then we are to go visit Iridius again."

She turned before he could see the frown on her face. Why were they going back to him? Why did they insist she had magic? Good grief!  
She stomped out to change, and missed the look shared between the two men.

\----

Several hours later, her temper and frustration were at the boiling point and she just _couldn't fucking take it any more_! Her hands tightened on the book she had but she resisted the urge to fling it, just barely, against the far wall. She sat it down, and turned to look at Iridius, who sat cross legged, hovering several feet off the floor, the creepy looking mother fucker. Tristan and Stratos were just another few feet away outside of this little sandbox that the old man had decided to start her in, sitting in chairs with their head bowed together, talking. When she sat the book down, they all looked at her. 

She fought the rising tears that threatened and instead snarled.

" _I. CANNOT. DO. THIS. IRIDIUS_!"

He'd been trying to teach her a basic spell, trying different ones to find which would come easiest to her to begin with, and so far, she hadn't made a twitch on the magical radar. 

_She'd fucking told them so_!

"Now Aurora, one must have patience, you are starting with no knowledge of the ways of magic and you must-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, practice and practice and practice and stare at the same fucking place and concentrate, well the damned force is not strong with this one! I'm not a fucking Jedi Iridius I'm telling you this is fucking ridiculous I CAN'T!"

She stomped her foot as her voice rose, and she was shaking, trembling, so pissed off her throat hurt and her damned traitorous eyes were watering. Tristan and Stratos stood, looking uncertain and worried. Iridius was as unruffled as ever. Guess he got little kid temper tantrums all the time.

"You can if you would but accept it child-"

"There is _NOTHING TO ACCEPT! I CAN'T FUCKING DO THIS_!"

Her voice broke on the last word, and that was it she wasn't standing here and arguing anymore. She spun on her heel and took off, cursing the tears that blurred her vision as she ran out of Iridius's solar room. She heard Tristan shout her name, but she just couldn't look at him, all soft and sympathetic and reassuring to her right now. She went down several hallways until she saw sunlight, bursting out into one side of the gardens as her heart hammered and her breath rasped out of her throat. She picked up both of her sandals in one hand and lifted her dress, running off into the thickest part of the woods. Maybe she could get lucky and fall into another pond and it would take her home.

She wasn't sure how long she ran, it felt like forever, but her muscles ached and her lungs burned and she finally stopped, leaning against a tree as she heaved for breath, sweating and tired and shaky. She curled up there at the foot of the tree and buried her face against her arms, and let out the storm raging inside her chest.  
She missed her home, her husband, her son, her family! She missed her mom and dad and sister, her nephews and brother in law and her grandmother. She missed her friends, what few she had. What if she never got back? What if she finally did, and so much time had passed? What if they were all gone or moved on when she finally found her way back home?! But what if they hadn't missed her at all? 

_What if any of them were glad she was gone_?

She wasn't sure how much time had passed before the shaking stopped, before she could breath again, before the tears stopped. She finally lifted her head, tired down to her bones, head feeling fuzzy and thick, and looked up at the snap of a branch.

"Tristan I'm-" she trailed off, staring. _Not Tristan_.

At her voice the animal went still, raising its head to look at her, and she could only stare. It was perhaps the most beautiful horse she'd ever seen. It looked like one of the friesians that her old boss used to have several of, but it was _huge_. Its muscles rippled beneath a coat that was pitch black and shimmered in the light of the setting sun. It had the fluffy hair around its hooves, and a long wild mane and tail that were all literally silver, like mercury, flowing with a strange grace even though there was no wind, and its eyes were the deep grey of thunderheads. It tossed its head and snorted, sending out a puff of smoke, and when it pawed at the ground, scraping one hoof across a rock, she gasped. Little bolts of electricity arced up, like lightening, shooting through the air.

"H-holy hell... u-uhm... hi there..."

It perked its ears toward her, and took a step forward, then it stopped again and whipped its head around. She glanced off that way and heard her name, making her sit up straighter. She felt bad for scaring them and running away after throwing a tantrum like a five year old. It was closer much faster than she'd thought, and Stratos suddenly burst into the clearing, leaves and twigs sticking out of his wild hair, eyes wide and worried until they landed on her. Then they swept over to the horse that had taken a step back, and he yanked out his blade with a snarl. She shot to her feet and tried to run over and protest.

"Stratos no! Don't hurt it!"

But she tripped, knees buckling, and she staggered. He was suddenly just there, catching her before she hit and sweeping her up into his arms. Her head was spinning, still thick from her crying, and she was so damned tired. She took in a shaky breath and turned to look at the animal, hoping that Stratos wouldn't throw her to the side and try to hurt it, it hadn't done anything. The horse reared then, hooves slashing the air as it brayed a warning at Stratos and whirled around, galloping away. She stared after it, amazed at the grace with which it moved, heard the rumble of thunder every time its hooves hit the ground, lightening sparking from each strike as it disappeared. 

Then Stratos was hugging her tightly against his chest and his voice was so relieved and snapping at the same time.

" _By the gods woman are you mad? Why would you run out here of all places_?!"

She looked down, feeling ashamed. She was an asshole.

"I don't know where here is I just.. had to get out of there Stratos I'm sorry.."

He sighed, squeezing her once again reassuringly before he turned and headed back at a slow pace.

"Are you alright?"

"...yeah." Her voice was tiny, because she felt like a fucking ass.

"What were you doing with that horse?"

She shrugged. "Not a damn thing besides staring at it. Why did you try to attack it?"

He heaved a sigh as he stepped over half an old log. "Because it is wild. Feral. None of us have ever been near it."

She stared up at him in shock, or tried to, but her eyes were getting heavy again.

"But..- its so pretty. It seemed nice..."

He glanced down at her, then back forward as his stance lost some of its tension.

"Let me tell you something you would do well to remember in our 'fair' court Aurora. Just because its pretty on the outside, doesn't mean it is on the inside. In fact, more often than not, the prettier it is, the more dangerous it is."

She mumbled an unintelligible reply, and his chuckle rumbled under her ear as she dropped her cheek against his shoulder.

"Rest now, I will get the prince's flower back to him safely..."

 

She halfway awoke at hearing Tristan's worried voice, and blinked her eyes open to see his face swim into view, eyes pinched at the corner. He relaxed when she looked at him, and the rumble under her ear stopped. Had that been Stratos talking? It had sounded so... weird.

"Aurora, flower, do not scare me so.."

"M'sorry Tristan..."

He touched her cheek and smiled lightly, straightening up to look at Stratos.

"Will you-"

"Of course."

Tristan stepped back, letting his hand fall away.

"It is alright, we will talk on the morrow, rest now, you've had a long day..."

Everything faded out and back in, and she was being laid carefully on her bed. She could tell, because she heard Chopper humming beside her and his tail drumming. Stratos pulled up the covers to her shoulders, leaning over her once to pat Chopper on the head and murmur to him. Why did everything seem so fuzzy?

Should she be this tired?

"You protect her boy.."

He gave a low woof and she halfway smiled. There was that sound again. Just as Stratos leaned back, she reached up and touched his arm, and he paused.

"Stratos..."

"Yes my lady?"

"How... how did you find me?"

He was quiet a moment before he put her hand back down and tucked the covers up over her again. She thought he wouldn't answer, or maybe she faded out again. But his voice was the distant rumble of thunder when he answered.

"I followed the music.."

 

When Stratos clicked the door shut to Aurora's rooms and stepped into Tristans, the prince cornered him, stance rigid, face tight with worry.

"Are you sure she is-"

"Yes Tristan, I assure you that she is perfectly fine. She is merely worn out, she ran a long distance... she was out by the gold trees when I found her, next to the brook."

Tristan's jaw dropped and he glanced at the closed door.

"That is several leagues."

Stratos rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at the door and back.

"I know. But that is not the most surprising thing."

Tristan's gaze snapped back to him, and his eyebrows rose curiously as he splayed his hands out.

"When I found her... Silvestrum was advancing on her."

Tristan sucked in a horrified breath, and Stratos held up his hands.

"I am aware, but ... it was calm. I reacted to him instantly, I pulled my blade, and... she defended him."

"She what?!"

"She ran at me to stop me, but she tripped. I caught her, and when I picked her up, Silvestrum waited until she spoke to me again, and then it fled. It was... very strange."

Tristan stared at him a moment before he blew out a long breath and shook his head.

"What is not strange anymore?"

The prince looked so worried that Stratos adopted a smirk and pushed at his shoulder.

"I would thank you that I am not in the least bit strange."

Tristan snorted and rolled his eyes, turning to walk over to the fireplace in the corner, but it had worked, his shoulders sat easier. Stratos watched him for a moment with a fondness and protectiveness that he did not have for many people. He glanced back at the closed door with a soft sigh of his own.

He had apparently added another person to that list.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She's such a bipolar, sarcastic asshole.  
> I love her. x3


	6. Temper, temper.

The next five days seemed to pass relatively quickly, and oddly calm, without incident really.

They had attended the first half of the days courts at the King's genial invitation, and she had even spoken to both Aurii and Morrigan on several occasions at each visit although they hadn't went everyday. She truly liked Aurii, who, after his initial hesitation and then surprise at his reaction, seemed to like her and warm towards her. Morrigan's reactions to her outwardly seemed the same, but for some reason she really couldn't put her finger on, Aurora thought she was being fake.

Maybe she was just more prone to befriend men than women, she had always been that way really.  
Less drama.  
But she continued to make every attempt at friendliness to the queen, despite the strange feeling she couldn't shake. It could literally just be jealously because Aurii seemed friendly toward her, after all, some women were just like that; instantly unfriendly toward any other women near their own men.  
She didn't get it, but oh well.

The rest of their time was spent divided between her lessons and being shown more of the world she was now in. Tristan like to show her around, take her through the gardens, even bringing Chopper. After the first time he had reacted warmly to the prince, the traitorous dog had begun coming along every time at Tristan's behest. She thought it cute really, and had laughed until she cried when they had played fetch, and then Chopper, in his own overzealous show of affection, had tackled the prince to the ground. Once Stratos and Wraith had both realized he wasn't hurting him, they had bowed over in laughter as well as the heir to the throne of the Seelie court rolled around and wrestled with a dog in the gardens and had gotten his clothing dirty.

She thought it had been great. They were always so serious and uptight, although not as much when not in front of the other Seelie.

Then even Stratos had joined in another day, and he and Tristan had jumped Wraith. They had wrestled and bellowed and rolled around for fifteen minutes while she laughed. And then she had nearly busted something. Chopper had wriggled out of the middle of it, but had been the very one to start it by purposely jumping up and getting his muddy paws on Stratos's guard uniform, suddenly appeared beside her and sat down to watch. She had crowed with laughter, then screeched when they realized he had gotten away and came after him. Then she was somehow pulled into the mix. She'd apparently had more experience being one of the boys than they had, and at being a kid, since she was literally an eight year old anyway, because she wrangled around and was winning. She'd gotten Wraith, him of all three, down on his stomach and pinned with his arms behind his back and was explaining what tapping out or submitting meant. The other two had stopped to listen to the 'point' of the game, and when he had bellowed at them for help they had ganged up and tackled her to the ground. Then held her down while Wraith got up, looking thunderous, sat on her legs, and tickled her until she was purple from laughing. Chopper had come up and started licking her face while they all laughed uproariously. She had been about to give in just to get away from the slobber.

Fucking traitorous dog.

They had all froze when someone had cleared their throat, and whirled to see who it was. Wraith and Stratos were on their feet faster than she could blink, swords materialized in their hands with the ringing sound of metal clearing their scabbards still in the air. The small of stature Sidhe, dressed in the finery and color of the king, had raised an imperious brow and told them the king was asking for his son's presence in the court, with Aurora. 

They had tried, vainly, to dust off and follow while looking like guilty children.

\--

The four of them slipped into the court room quietly, waiting there just by the door. The king had told the guards at the door that he was continuing with the other cases instead of waiting on them to arrive, since he hadn't been sure they were anywhere around and when they would make it there. So she stood with her arms looped over Tristans, leaned close to him, between Wraith on her left, and Stratos on the far side.

What she hadn't thought anything of, and what the three men hadn't noticed in their haste to respond to the King, was their appearance. They were all covered in grass, dirt, leaves, and flower petals. Everywhere, even sticking out of their hair, mixed with twigs that seemed to be waving in the air. Their clothing was askew, rumpled, and they were all flushed and halfway out of breath. She had even lost her shoes, somewhere.

Totally weird, that.

While a few voices talked back and forth near the dias up front, working between the kings deep rumble, Aurora took the time to look around. Everything seemed a bit different now that she could kind of understand what she was looking at. The courtroom itself was beautiful of course. The walls were pure white, albeit beautifully decorated, the floor the same save for gilt edged outline down the center walkway. It was like a long hall of sorts, the main doorway would open onto the path, and you could walk straight to the dias unhindered. The members of the Court were along both sides of the walkway, arranged in each of their own houses with their own heads and members. That had taken some explaining.

For example, to her left was the first of the six houses. That meant there was one table there one step up from the walkway, with seven members of that house sitting facing them. Behind them was another step up, and another table with the head of the house in the center, and the four people surrounding them were their own officers and whatnot. She hadn't paid much attention to what each station was called. But each house reflected much of its leader. The tables all looked like heavy marble, and each was covered in the red and gold of the King, and the royal crest printed over several places. In the centers were another banner thrown over the table with the houses personal crest over it, right in front of the house leader, and a handful of other decorations, scrolls , and such. But what she was really taken with were the wall decorations behind the tables. She had noticed these everywhere, and had stopped to look at many of them, but these were some of the ones in the best condition with the most detail, as if each house wanted theirs on display to be the best of them all. They were great hand spun tapestries depicting the house and their history, what they had done to become the leader, basically anything they thought was important. They were each surrounded by translucent bolts of fabric that hung around them with the colors of the house itself. They each seemed to have long histories too, because the tapestries all went to the ceiling and nearly to the floor, which was a good fifteen feet. Each one seemed to be made of silk, woven from glittering jewels spun into thread and edged with gold or other precious stones.

She thought they were the coolest thing really.

It was then that she felt an eye on her, one that seemed to be staring, and she dropped her gaze to the table under the banner she had been staring at to see. One of the sidhe there was looking at her with wide eyes, cheeks pink as they covered their mouth. She lifted an eyebrow questioningly, and when the sidhe realized she was looking quickly turned away. But they elbowed the next person and whispered furiously to them. The other turned with a frown, glanced at them, and away. Not a split second later they were looking back, doing a double take in surprise. 

T'hell were they looking at?

She glanced around, and noticed several other Sidhe were doing the same thing at different tables. She finally looked to the front and saw several things. First, that Aurii looked up at the commotion with a frown and saw them, and went a little narrow eyed before surprised, then he grinned and went back to paying attention to the two in front of his dias talking to him. Then, Morrigan looked relatively pissed off from her throne, reclining back with one leg crossed at the knee, and one hand resting on her chin as she stared at them. Just as Aurora was starting to wonder, she noticed a shift of movement and her eyes turned to it, since it was oddly placed. It was someone standing at the bottom of the dias, off to the same side the queen sat on, but not at one of the tables. Then their eyes met, and Aurora literally felt herself bristle.

Rosalyn.

What the hell was that bitch up to?

Tristan tilted his head to look at her questioningly, since she was pretty sure she had just sprouted claws, and followed her gaze to see. He knew immediately, and when he went a little stiff, both the guards paid attention. They were getting used to her being weird, at the most random times, but her _and_ Tristan reacting like that to something was a bit different. They both seemed to straighten a little, and as she stared at the curly haired scheming wench, she started to smile. They seemed to all share the same opinion of, oh look, a ssssssnake. But while Rosalyn looked pissed off, she also looked triumphant.

That couldn't be good _at all_. 

The tension between them was thick enough that the Sidhe between them were shifting, looking back and forth as they watched, waiting on something to happen.

She was so intent on her staring match with Rosalyn that she didn't realize the other case was over until the buzz of voices around the room rose with gossip, and

Aurii's voice boomed out over them all, silencing them, then he gestured at their little group.

They all walked up amidst the open staring, and she felt again, certainly not for the first time, that it was like walking through a pack of circling wolves and hoping the alpha liked you enough to back off the rest of them.

She didn't want to see if her blood would look like rubies spilled across the glittering white floor of the court. 

Aurii seemed amused by something as they stopped at the bottom of the steps, completely ignoring Rosalyn off to the side. 

"My son... has something happened?"

His voice shook with suppressed mirth, and his starburst eyes were dancing. She glanced around, and everyone was still staring. Wraith and Stratos looked as stoic and formidable as ever, standing arms crossed, eyes bored. But they were all disheveled, and both guards had leaves and twigs in their hair too. Oops. She muffled a laugh and glanced back as Tristan, while trying to contain his own laughter, answered.

"No father, just out for a walk when your messenger reached us."

He lifted a brow, giving them a grin.

"It would seem I interrupted something then.."

She had to pipe up then. "No sir, we were just having some fun!"

She beamed at him, then turned her head as Tristan choked. He flushed, and a glance back showed her both the guards were staring at her, eyes wide, lips pressed together tightly, twitching, and their eyes were dancing, the tips of their ears turning red. She turned back as Aurii suddenly boomed out a laugh, which a few members of the court echoed.

Why were they-

  
_Oh...._.

They all looked thoroughly debauched, and she seemed completely proud of the fact, and looked the least disheveled of them. She realized then what it looked like and went beet red, and Tristan took her hand as he started to laugh, giving her a look that said _way to go, don't even try to fix it now, too late_.

Well hell. 

She grinned sheepishly, and he turned back to Aurii, grinning. The king's laughter subsided, and he finally made a gesture at Rosalyn, who stepped to the edge of the steps, arms crossed, looking victorious and pissed. Now they would find out what was up.

"Well, I do hate to interrupt, but it would seem your consort has had a complaint brought against her."

All laughter immediately left the three of them, and she was just kind of surprised. Really?

Tristan was snarling. "Who dares?"

Aurii gestured at Rosalyn, who preened. "She claims the girl attacked her, and then that she went to Iridius and lied, causing her to loose her place in her training, shaming her and therefore making her start at the bottom again."

Rosalyn flinched, but kept staring. Aurora rolled up her sleeve.

"I'll do it again-"

"Ah-ah-ah dearest,"

She paused at the hand holding her back, turning to look at Tristan. He winked at her, then made a motion to Wraith, who nodded and disappeared out of the room. The prince then explained to his father what had happened, and Wraith reappeared moments later with Iridius in tow. The scholar told them the same thing, and the King listened to it all intently. His face was getting darker by the moment, but he turned to her and inclined his head, his expression gentler.

"What have you to say?"

She shrugged. "They told the truth. Then she thought what she had done was funny, so since she marked my face, I marked hers."

Aurii grinned, and turned to Rosalyn. "Well, I think we can all see where the truth lies here."

Rosalyn sputtered, getting more red as she gestured wildly. "B-but you cannot believe this! How long have I served you? Why would I lie?! She has bespelled them all your majesty!"

Gasps arose around the room, and the king paled. Around the room the whispers rose, and the five of them glanced around warily. It wasn't lost on her, and she was afraid that it wasn't lost on several others, that the four men moved enough that they were in a half circle around her, with the guards at her back, and Tristan at her side, Iridius on her other. It did make her feel better, but not much. Aurii took in a breath, and said something to quiet them. It went unheard above the din, and Rosalyn looked terribly proud of herself.

Aurii's face darkened considerably as he glanced across his courts, then he raised a hand and sliced it through the air. His bellow broke well above the noise, crashing through the room as fire erupted around his hand and blazed up in a glittering arc of heat that snapped and popped.

" _I CALLED FOR SILENCE IN MY COURTROOM_!!"

You could have heard the flowers growing outside for a few seconds as the King pinned the head of each house with a dark glare, daring them to protest. Then he clenched his fist, and the fire sparked before fizzing out. After another few seconds he turned, locking his eyes on the woman who didn't look quite so happy to be here any longer. 

Aurora silently laughed at her.

"That is a serious accusation Rosalyn."

"I-I am aware of that your highness..."

At that, Iridius stepped forward, sending his robes flurrying about him, face set in a tight scowl. Along her side nearest him she felt at once a hot and cold wind pushing over her and she shivered. This was the first time she'd seen him not quiet and calm...

Oh shit.

"She does not have the depth of knowledge about any magic to perform a spell complex enough to control three warriors of such power, and the head scholar of the Seelie court. You should watch your tongue before you lose it welp."

His voice was perhaps the scariest she'd heard yet. There was no crashing of waves, no rolling of thunder when he was angry, it was the softest thing, controlled and calm, that eerie, hair raising quiet in the center of a tornado when everything went still. Aurora shuddered.

Rosalyn paled, hesitated, then seemed to rally.

"You see m'lord! S-she has them all under her will!"

Aurora was starting to get pretty pissed and snarled back at her.

"I don't have any magic, much less enough to do something like that y'fuckin idiot!"

Rosalyn preened as everything fell into a sudden heavy silence, and all her four friends around her flinched and looked at her with the worst expressions she had ever seen. It was the clearest _oh shit, what have you done_?

Aurora swallowed, and noticed everyone else was staring. The King looked pained, but Morrigan's eyes looked different, sharper, almost triumphant. Why?

What had she done now? Then she refocused as Aurii spoke to his son.

"Tristan,.. does she speak the truth?"

Tristan licked his lip nervously, and before she could answer, he squeezed her hand in warning. With a sideways glance at him she fell silent. This could be bad.

"No father she has magic, she has been learning under Iridius, trying to control it. She has never learned before, and it is... complicated to teach something so foreign to her. Her people do not practice magic. She is.. merely frustrated with how slow the teaching goes...."

There were more gasps and murmurs along the crowd. Wraith and Stratos looked uneasy, and she didn't like that, at all. Then King looked around the room with a narrowed gaze, raising his hand in warning without a word as little embers of fire appeared around his fist again. The room fell silent, and he turned back with a

resigned sigh, looking at her then Tristan.  
"My son, she cannot be your consort if she has no magic. You know this. You must have some sort of proof since it has been called into question...."

Tristan turned to Iridius, eyes almost frantic, and the scholar barely dipped his head. Aurora whipped around to glare at Rosalyn, who was grinning. Oh she was going to fuck that bitch up. 

Iridius spoke up then, once again calm, in control.

"Sire, I awoke her magic like I have countless times, it is there. She already carries a level three inside her-"

There were more gasps, and it shut Rosalyn's prissy face with a snap. Aurora grinned, even if she didn't believe it. Aurii looked at her with surprise as the whispers flew through the room and he didn't quiet them this time. Morrigan sat up slowly in her chair, putting both feet on the floor to stare. Iridius gave it a moment to sink in, then continued.

"But she is learning to use it. As the prince said, it is but a ....careful process."

Jesus, talk about her like she was slow. 

The king thought for a moment and glanced around then back.

"But has she shown any abilities? If she has not.. if she cannot wield the magic, despite its presence, then it is of no use Iridius...."

Aurii looked at her, and seemed apologetic of having to say it. She started to get worried, twisting her hands together where they were looped over his arm. Tristan had said this would protect her, so what would happen if it was taken away?

Stratos cleared his throat and stepped forward, bowing to Aurii. The king's eyebrows both went up, but he looked almost relieved.

"Speak if you have something to say Stratos."

The guard straightened, and he inclined his head once.

"She has shown some abilities my lord. When outside a few days past, she wandered away from us-"

She blinked. Wow, that was icing the cake a bit thickly.

"-and when I found her, she was in the process of charming Silvestrum to her hand."

All eyes whipped back to her, and Aurii looked impressed, so did the Queen, and she was starting to think that was a bad thing. The whispers that had died down to hear him started again amidst a flurry of horrified gasps.

"Is this true?"

She glanced at Tristan, who squeezed her hand again in caution, and nodded his head.

"Go ahead and tell him flower."

She glanced back, and felt the butterflies in her stomach quaking.

"Ah... you mean.. the black horse with the silver mane? The one that blows the smoke out of its nose?"

Aurii looked surprised, and he nodded.

"Well.., yeah, I mean, I talked to him, and he seemed like he was coming over... Stratos scared him away though, when he came up.."

The guard looked sheepish. "I became worried when we lost her..."

The king was still staring at her, and Rosalyn and everyone else looked thunderstruck. Except Iridius, who looked thoughtful, and suddenly smiled.

That couldn't be good either.

The King turned a dark scowl towards Rosalyn as if making a sudden decision, and lifted his hand, making a sweeping gesture as his voice lifted, booming through the courtroom. The guards at the back perked up and started forward at a steady pace, giving the King time to make his dramatic decree.

"Rosalyn I hereby banish you for treason and treachery against the Royal family, the High Scholar, and the Seelie Court. You should hope that Borrum, the King of the Unseelie Court, will allow such a treacherous, jealous viper into his court."

There were a few horrified screeches that were cut off by gasps and whispers as everyone began babbling. Nobody could believe it, banishing was a fate worse than death to the Seelie, who thought the Unseelie unclean, vile, twisted monsters. Most of them anyway. Rosalyn started to shake, looking horrified as she covered her mouth, bending double as if he had physically assaulted her. The sound that came out of her throat was strangled, rising to a wail as she suddenly whirled and brought up her hands. Stratos shouted, and the guards rushed forward, but it all seemed delayed to Aurora. She met Rosalyns gaze, bright with a feverish frantic look as she straightened and seemed to make a sudden decision.

Time seemed to slow down, and Aurora thought, _oh no, not now_.

All the sudden chaotic sounds rose to a crescendo, battering at her ears, making everything feel like waves crashing over her. Like she couldn't think, couldn't focus, her head throbbed, her heart pounded, and her pulse leapt into her throat. Rosalyn brought up her hands, and Aurora watched as glittering blue light swirled around the Seelie woman's palms, and then focused into icy bright shards. Then she heard it, some low thrum, a marked harmony that changed as the ice formed. It grew higher in pitch, sounding wrong, forced, a clattering of notes. Then Wraith stepped forward, brought up his sword, slid his feet apart and she heard another burst join the first. This one was different, a low whispering, something that sounded like an old song she knew about the reaper and the shadows. Haunting, but right.

Light flickered around Wraith, and as Rosalyn flung the shards, the first sound warbled, long and drawn out. Wraith barely moved his sword, like a swirling flicker against the shadows, and the sound hummed. She wanted to reach out and touch it, mimic it, take hold of it and wrap herself in it until she understood. But you can't do that to music, it isn't a tangible thing you can touch, right?

The shards of ice burst against his sword harmlessly, falling in a glittering trail of dust to the floor. The bad sounds broke off, smashed to pieces it seemed with her ice, and everything snapped back to reality with an almost audible pop. Wraith straightened as the other guards tackled Rosalyn, grabbing her and yanking her up and around. She screamed and fought against them, hurling insults and threats.

Aurora held her fanatical gaze until the doors of the courtroom closed behind them and cut off her screams with a sudden final boom. Then she realized that Iridius was watching her intently, and she gave him a questioning look. Before she could ask, Tristan, who had finally been let forward by Stratos, yanked her around to him and nearly crushed her against his chest with a hug. She gasped and flailed, but finally returned the hug with a soft laugh. He seemed relieved, and pulled back to look her over, worry plain in his gaze.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, glancing back as Wraith straightened and moved up beside her.

"Of course, Wraith kicked those ice shards asses."

They huffed at her apparent attempt at humour, even if they thought her silly. Aurii stepped down from the dias, and she noticed he seemed fine, jovial even, now that it was over. These Sidhe were strange sometimes.

"My son, go, you and your consort continue your day. I regret that I even had to bring you here for such nonsense..."

"It is alright father, nothing happened."

She glanced around to see everyone was talking about what all had happened. Iridius stayed with them, walking on her other side from Tristan, with Stratos in front of them, and Wraith behind them. The doors swung open, and they all glanced back inside before they stepped out. She didn't know what the others noticed, but she glanced back at the dias. Aurii had returned to standing in front of his throne, Morrigan at his side, speaking to her. But there was something odd.

The Queen was staring straight at her.

 

 

Later, when they ended up in Iridius's solar room again, he rounded on her and made her explain everything about her 'meeting' with Silvestrum in great detail, then Stratos had to give his side as well. Once he'd thought about it for a bit, he smiled at her.

"I do not think you understand how much of an amazing feat this was my dear... we must talk."

She glanced around, then back at him nervously. "A-about what?"

His smile was secretive, like the cat that had the cream, then he turned to Stratos, Wraith, and Tristan.

"Prince, I would assume you have things you can be doing today?"

She whirled to pin him with a wide eyed frantic look, and he glanced at her then back at the Scholar, giving him a slightly sheepish grin.

"Well, I uh, not so much really, it is not-"

Iridius frowned at him. "Nonsense, I raised you to know your duties as the Prince, and you do have some to attend to. Now, away with the lot of you. You will miss nothing of consequence here. Leave a guard if you wish."

She swallowed, staring at him with big pleading eyes.

"I ah.... well..."

He dropped his gaze with a deep sigh, then swung his gaze to Stratos with a large smile. The guard frowned at him suspiciously.

"Stratos! You may stay with her, she knows you, and I trust you to make sure nothing happens to her."

Stratos's jaw dropped, and he sputtered. "But I - I am your captain of the guard! I am not - not fit for - for - consort watching! I am no chaperone!"

Tristan waved his hand airily as he walked over to her and smiled. "You do not have to be, she is more then capable of chaperoning herself, you are here to protect her and keep her from terrible mischief or harm."

He stepped up to her side and she pouted, glaring mutinously at him while she crossed her arms. He put a hand on her shoulder and learned down to brush the lightest of kisses across her temple, and squeeze her shoulder reassuringly as he straightened and smiled. She gaped up at him. What the hell was he was doing? _Was he insane_?

"You will be alright here, Iridius and Stratos are both honorable warriors. You have nothing to fear. I will attend some of my duties and return shortly..."

She was still blinking up at him in stunned confusion as he turned and motioned to Wraith, who looked beyond pleased at the situation, sending her a smile before he turned and followed the prince out. The door to the solarium closed behind them and she sighed darkly. 

Well, she did love this room, it had to be her favorite so far, beyond the library of course. It was a gigantic round room, with a high vaulted domed ceiling, thick silver beams arching up to a point in the center where they met as some sort of protection from the elements. Iridius had assured her that a ward he had placed there protected them from high winds or storms. She did think it a cool idea, since the entire place was open to the outside. Inside, there was plenty of room. The place held different 'stations' set up for working on different aspects of magic, everything from metallurgy to storms to nature to healing. She had been at the ones most frequented by beginners already, the low level simple things as Iridius tried to find her a foothold into the magic. He said everyone must find their way.  
She told him at every venture she had no magic. And he would always respond with a simple indulgent fond smile, and his softly spoken words of reassurance.   
Finally she glanced at Stratos, who gave her a smile and a cheeky wink just to get her to relax. The three men were her friends, and she supposed Iridius was beginning to become one too. But the rigid set of her shoulder relaxed slightly at his effort, and she gave him a thankful smile. She was always so damned nervous around things like this, she didn't like to be on shaky unsure ground. Some people could pave their own way with their own amount of confidence that they had even in an uncertain situation. She could not.

She finally turned back to Iridius, and he gave her a smile, one softer than he had earlier as he folded his hands together. She had the strangest urge to fold her hands and bow at the waist and intone the words 'sensei'. She kept the snort to herself and simply waited.

"I think, for a while today, that we shall go outside, and sit in the gardens. I wish you to tell me of your life. Of the things you liked, the things you were good at, what you loved or hated..."

He trailed off, a gentleman as always as he offered her his arm when he turned, smiling. She shook her head at him and smiled, stepping up to loop her hand through his and walk at his side as they walked out of the solarium and into the bright sunshine. She glanced back, several times, always making sure Stratos was still there, as silent and imposing as ever, walking with an easy grace behind them. She had a habit of things like that, checking on people she considered 'hers' like a worried mother hen. She shook her head and glanced at Iridius, nervous all over again, because she didn't think talking about herself was much of a topic. But she would try for him. Maybe.

Iridius had taken them to a gigantic tree, used a small twirl of magic to make them each a simple round seat fixed of twining roots that was surprisingly comfortable. She thought it was one of the coolest things he had done yet, and he seemed to take note of it.

This was how her lessons went for the next several days. She liked this better really. She was no longer doing everything to try to force the magic out.

Sometimes Tristan would join them, sometimes not, but he kept leaving Stratos with them. They even began bringing Chopper, and letting him run around outside, sometimes playing with the usually stoic guard, much to Iridius's apparent delight. 

Each day, the conversations Iridius pulled from her were much about herself. She didn't understand this approach and wasn't particularly fond of talking about herself, but she gave in to his gentle insistence, little bits at a time. Then he would stop after a while and turn to Stratos and speak to him, about any manner of things, anywhere from interesting to unmercifully boring. After the third day, she realized while he spoke to Stratos, she didn't have to sit and listen, he told her to do as she wished, as long as she stayed close. He was giving her tiny breaks, she thought.

Apparently he was watching her too.

She would wander off, check out the local flora and fauna. Like she did every time she went somewhere new. She found several adorable animals, many things that would slowly come to her for short periods of time.

They usually spent lunch time out there as well, and supper was always her, Tristan, Wraith, and Stratos, although they did invite Iridius, he sometimes had other things to do. Tristan and Wraith seemed surprised at how her 'teachings' were going, and even a bit baffled, but they did not say anything against it. She supposed it was fun, because Iridius was still teaching her, telling her how to perform some things, mostly nature and healing spells, since he said the environment permitted such talk. But he wasn't trying to make her do it. She supposed she was retaining the information better since she wasn't superbly frustrated or pissed off or flat out balking.

But she kind of wanted to keep trying, even if it meant she had been wrong. She certainly wanted to be proved wrong. After all, who _wouldn't_ want magic if they could have it?

 

 

When she and Stratos showed up for their next daily appointment, perhaps a week and a half after their first venture outside, Iridius was actually busy, throwing potions and ingredients, and several things she didn't know what the hell they were, into a bag. He turned to them, lips pressed together in a worried line.

"I received an important summons, someone has been very badly injured, and they wish my help to speed up the healing process. I will return when I can, but it may yet be this afternoon, if not the morrow. I wish you two to continue spending the day outside for today at least.. I believe this time in nature is good for you, both of you."

She stared at him in shock. "But Iridius... what am I suppose to do all day?"

He smiled as he came up, and Stratos was looking at him oddly. "Practice your magic child."

"Well... I will.. try."

He seemed pleased with the answer and patted her shoulder as he walked by, stopping as Stratos caught his shoulder, looking concerned. 

"Iridius what has happened?"

"It would seem one of the clan of Fera was out with their usual wild ways, and one of the young ones wandered into a cave of leos. He is gravely injured, and they fear he will fade before he heals on his own without help."

Stratos went white, and Iridius nodded. "I am going to see what I can do. You know they do not have a healer among them, their powers are all much the same. I will return as soon as I am able."

"Be safe on your travels."

Iridius inclined his head and left, the door closing quietly behind him. She stared at Stratos a moment, curious.

"What did he say happened?"

Stratos rubbed the back of his neck. 

"A child of one of the wilder clans has gotten injured by one of the animals they normally charm. They feared the child would fade without-"

"Yes, I heard him, but what does fading mean? I've heard that before... but... I hope it is not what I think it is..."

"There are not many things at can kill a Sidhe. Magical weapons, only some quite powerful ones, perhaps a few old black spells, ones long banned from use under penalty of banishment or worse... and fading. It is when a sidhe loses their magic, or their will to live. They can simply give up, and fade away."

She stared at him with wide eyes. "That's... horrible."

She had heard that before, and she'd heard that the Sidhe could live through some very gruesome things. In a book she had read, one had been turned inside out, into a ball of nothing but muscles and tissue, things that should never see the light of day, and left that way. Alive. She shuddered and pushed the mental image of that away.

"Yes... well, let us go out into the sunshine and banish such thoughts. We will try to find something to amuse us this day."

She nodded, falling into step beside him as they left the solarium behind. 

"Could we walk farther out, like... perhaps where we haven't been yet? Just to see? This place is so beautiful y'know?"

He looked torn, but staring at her a moment he finally nodded. "Of course."

They fell into easy conversation, with him telling her more about the flora and fauna they passed. Iridius had taught her much, but she was getting to see some of it herself now, and she was absolutely delighted. Stratos seemed amused by how excited she was to learn about all of it, to see it all. They were well into their walk, both relaxed and enjoying the beautiful day, when they finally paused to rest.

They had stopped at a clearing, and she felt abashed when Stratos told her it was in fact the one he had found her in the other day. They looked at the stream gurgling nearby, the tall trees with their teal colored bark and glimmering gold leaves, the sun shining, and thought all was well.

Then Aurora stopped, looking around with a frown.

"Stratos,.... do you hear that?"

She lowered her voice, and he stepped closer to her, eyeing the woods as he put his hand on the hilt of his blade. He waited a few heartbeats, and turned back to her. 

"No, I do not hear anything."

She nodded, turning in a slow circle as something crept up her spine and settled between her shoulder blades, itching as the hair on her neck raised.

"That is precisely what I mean.."

He frowned, looking at her curiously. She kept looking, felt her heart pounding. No, she was over reacting, right?

"There were animals, birds singing, things going on in the woods... there always should be sound in the woods Stratos... but it has all stopped... as if they are hiding.."

His eyes widened, and he turned to search the shadowy interior of the trees again, eyes sharp as he tensed. He hadn't noticed, but she had. She always noticed the forest. 

They both whirled at the sound of a branch snapping, and a feigned gasp of surprise.

"Oh look, what a pleasant surprise! Fancy meeting the two of you out here, all alone, so far from the courts and your other guards, and even your scholar, where no one knows where the two of you are..."

Rosalyn straightened as she stepped around a tree, giving them a malicious smirk.

"Such a surprise, that... I wonder how long it will be before they look for you?"

Ah fuck. It had been such a good day too.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really starting to not like that pinkie chick....


	7. End of the Feud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a little bit of gory detail...

Normally, Aurora would not have been worried, surely Stratos, with all the power he held, could take down one little healer, no problem. But the woman looked too smug. Chills washed down her spine as the guard stepped in front of her and pulled his sword.

"You have been banished Rosalyn-"

" _Silence_!"

The woman's composure cracked, and they could see the fanatical light behind her eyes. She was obviously insane.

"I will kill the both of you and then the Prince will come to me, heartbroken and lonely, and I will console him, and he will be mine!"

 _Jesus age fucking Christ, this bitch had lost her damned marbles. Really?_ Aurora just gaped at her. The whole evil villian speech and everything. _Ugh._

Stratos slid his feet apart, bringing up his sword, and waiting.

"You can not be this mad Rosalyn, I am the captain of the Prince's guard, what makes you think you can best me?"

She began to laugh, a high pitched sound that raked across the nerves and set their teeth on edge. Then she brought forward the hand she'd kept behind her back, showing them what she held. It was a dagger with a wicked sharp looking edge. The hilt was black, embedded with a few dark glimmering sapphires, and silver marks that looked like runes engraved around it, even down across the blade, which looked like it was made of obsidian. It looked like a damned bejeweled dagger, other than being pretty damn sharp, what was she suppose to do with that?

But Stratos went absolutely rigid in front of her, body strung tightly, and his grip on his sword tightened. Rosalyn laughed again.

"I see you recognize it Stratos. I even dipped it into the nectar of the mortifero flower, and I have plenty more...."

As the wench tugged a vial from her pocket, sloshing with a liquid that was thick and a bright harsh yellow, she grinned again. Aurora's mind raced. She'd heard that one mentioned, she knew that one...

Then it translated in her head. Mortifero - deadly. The deadly flower. 

_Well shit_.

Sidhe couldn't be killed by poison, but they could be affected, paralyzed, hurt.. and she was willing to bet that from Stratos's reaction just to the blade, that it had to be one of those 'relics' he'd told her about that could actually kill them. Well, him. It could kill her no problem. She might could find the antidote for the thing out here, but then what?

She felt something move over her, like the cool wind just before a great storm, the last little bit of calm before the great rising of a billowing tempest. And it was coming from Stratos. He was the Storm Lord, she'd heard someone call him that. 

Then he was leaping, sword up, and Rosalyn crouched down and brought up her dagger with a fierce smile. Their blades collided with a shower of sparks, and while her arms trembled, she held him back, for just a moment. That was all she needed. Aurora screamed a warning as the woman reared back and slammed her palm into Stratos's chest. He stumbled backwards with a hissed curse that turned into a bellow of pain. Aurora rushed forward, catching at him as he toppled backwards when his knees gave out. Rosalyn just watched, triumphant, smiling. Aurora stared as blood blossomed and poured over his chest, the straps of his clothes melting away as his very skin sizzled. She gasped, horrified. _Oh god no Stratos no no no_ -

The glass was sticking up in glittering shards from his chest where she'd broken the vial, tinted red with his blood and yellow with the poison that was now rolling down his sizes with tiny trails of smoke. Aurora reached forward to wipe it away, but he caught her hand in a vise like grip, eyes frantic, furious, cloudy with pain as his voice came out a strangled sound.

"D-dont touch - p-poison! R-run now g-go, p-para-"

His jaw seemed to lock, and she was horrified,when he went still, breath barely forming past his lips, but his eyes were blazing. 

-Paralysis- ... that had been the other thing. The acid, the paralysis. 

Fury burned low in her stomach, eating away as the blood flowed faster from his chest, the acid sank deeper, eating away at him. She grabbed her skirt while Rosalyn tittered triumphantly behind her. She ripped off a huge hunk, wiping off as much as she could quickly with the fabric, hissing when her fingertips brushed some of the acid like creation. She wiped it off quickly and kept on, ignoring Rosalyn who taunted her from her side. She was about to kill this bitch. No more of this shit.

 _No. More_. 

She ripped the rest of her skirt off, making it even across her thighs, and lay the clean fabric on his chest, patting it in the hopes she got most of the toxin out and it would help the bleeding. It had ate away at him so fast though, god she could see the white of bone and - no. First things first.

She stood as rage boiled under her skin like a living thing, beating and clawing, frantic to be let loose. Itching and aching. Her eyes burned, her fists curled, and when her breath caught in her throat, she knew a growl rumbled out of her chest, one deeper than she'd ever heard from herself before. Rosalyn stopped, looking at her curiously, than began to laugh mockingly. Aurora reached into the hole in her pocket, curled her fingers around the handle of the machete, and slid it free of its sheath. Rosalyn looked surprised, but then her gaze narrowed.

"What are you going to do you pathetic, insignificant little human?"

That feeling in her chest swelled, ached, rumbled and spread, shooting a cold burning fever through her. She'd always held back, never let her temper go. She'd always felt helpless, felt it choking her, and this time, she wasn't. This time she reached for it, felt the world slow around her, darken and shudder, felt the wind kick up, felt it settle into her chest like it belonged.

She caught the barest whisper of music on the wind.

She threw open the door to the cage inside her, heard a ringing like a bell that suddenly surged into a great crescendo of notes that pounded through her bloodstream. 

Instead of the overwhelming feeling of panic she normally had, the way she hid, ran, pushed it away, she wrapped herself in it and clenched her teeth tightly while her very bones thrummed.

Overhead, clouds boiled, darkened to a deep grey, rumbling as they roiled across the sky. A bolt of lightening flashed, and Rosalyn stared at her, suddenly afraid.

"Y-you don't... you don't have magic! You can't!"

It doesn't matter anymore what she had, she was going to kill this bitch. She just kept coming back like a cockroach, returning no matter what happened. She'd tried repeatedly to harm her, she'd just gone on and on. She was tired of this bitch.

Lightening speared across the sky this time to the thick rumble of thunder, and Rosalyn leapt at her. She barely managed to bring up her own blade as she staggered back, muscles screaming and shaking as they locked together. She slid back, feet digging into the earth, but Rosalyn had both hands on her blade, triumphant that she would win, wanting to drag this out. She pushed, her blades serrated edges hanging it against Aurora 's, and seemed to laugh. But Aurora could see the fear in her eyes, and something reflected. She almost flinched, but it pushed against the rage still billowing out of her, and as she snarled, thunder boomed overhead, shaking the ground.

Her own eyes were glowing a solid green like the sun trapped behind her eyes, almost dropping sparks.

Then she tilted the blade, dropped the hand she'd braced the end with, and held tightly to the handle. Rosalyn pushed, thinking she had the advantage and slipped as the blade sawed sparks and slid off her own. The woman staggered and Aurora swung the blade. But she was fast, she ducked back, screeching in fury, hand to her face as red appeared and leaked down her cheek. 

She'd cut her across the cheek, where Aurora had been cut before. 

Aurora smiled, sliding her feet apart. The music changed pitch, and she suddenly heard it. She heard it build and hold out a long note as lightening flashed, and then it roared through with the thunder. Around her hands she heard another tune, one long note, and she looked down, flexing her hands.

What the hell was that?

Could she change it? She had always been able to mimic pitch and rhythm, in her head at least, so she stared down Rosalyn, who was panting, staring at her, pissed off and going on about what she was going to do to her before she killed her. The last minute evil mastermind cliche speech, ugh. How she was going to be there for the prince. What all she would do. 

Aurora tuned her out and pulled the music she heard from the clouds, focused until the pitch seemed to change around her hands. It was a hell of a lot easier than she'd thought. She pushed the deep beat, put the high stings into it, building them to the pitch that she'd heard when the lightening struck. Static sparked around her hand in brighter flashes as she neared the right pitch, and she looked up. Rosalyn looked thunderstruck, staring with open surprise. Shock.

Aurora added more of the same notes, pushing it up, and brought her hands together to cup the music, dropping her blade to the ground. Rosalyn looked triumphant as she suddenly burst forward in a blur of movement, her blade raised high as she shrieked. Aurora felt the notes warble as her concentration twitched, but then that boiling mass in her chest surged up, and she shoved the notes to that one perfect held out pitch, and the smile that split her lips was far from comforting. She held up her hands, and as Rosalyn reached her, she caught the woman's wrists, keeping her from bringing the blade down. As soon as they touched, there was an explosion of sound, of light and heat. 

Rosalyn screamed and was knocked back from her, and Aurora staggered backwards, gasping. The music fell off, whispering away into the wind as if it had never been, leaving her shaking and panting for breath as the roiling bursting feeling inside her pulled back now, calmer. She looked down, saw the blade the other woman had held at her feet where it had been dropped, and snatched it up, then straightened to look. Across the clearing was where Rosalyn had landed, smacked across a tree and rolled to the ground. The tree looked splintered, with cracks radiating out from where she'd hit, and she had landed strangely, her neck at an odd angle, limbs somehow tangled although she was on her back. She had scorch marks across her skin, smoke raising on her arms, where two perfect clean handprints were around her wrists. But her eyes were open, despite the blood, staring at Aurora hatefully. She was working her mouth, she was sure for threats that wouldn't come out of her throat. 

She felt a cold resolve straighten her back, and she stomped over, blade clenched so tightly in her palm that the jewels embedded into her skin, pinching, grounding her. Rosalyn was already twitching when she knelt beside her, her broken back healing itself, she could hear the slow snapping, painful she was sure, but she didn't care. She would be healed in no time, and then she would still be just as big a threat. Aurora knelt beside her, brought up the blade in both hands and met those tricolored eyes.

"You've threatened me and mine, hurt them, made them suffer. You sealed your own fate. Say hello to whatever deity you pray to."

Then she brought down the blade, clenched her teeth as she angled it for the soft spot just under the ribcage in the center, pushed it up. She sliced through like butter, felt it catch and grind on a bone, felt the woman go rigid as blood welled and poured like a river. Then she shoved, hard as she could, felt it give into something softer with a pop, and the body stiffened farther with a bubbling gasp, and went limp. Aurora leaned on the blade, panting as she shook, and finally she yanked the blade back. It took some pulling, some doing, before it came free. She had blood smeared to her elbows, and when she looked up, the sun was shining again. She muttered, shook her head.

"Blood makes the grass grow..."

She stood, stopped to get her own blade, pushed it back into its rightful place on her thigh, then looked at the blade in her hand. She yanked another strip of fabric loose, looped and tied it securely alongside the sheath of her blade. She twisted and maneuvered it until it was fit tightly, sure it wouldn't fall when she started walking, then dropped her skirt back over it, hiding it. She would give it to Tristan.

She turned and paced over to Stratos, still prone, still stiff, in the middle of moving, paralyzed. Six foot three and more than two hundred pounds of wounded dead weight. She knelt beside him, met his gaze which still burned, furious, aching, worried, scared. As she reached for the cloth over his chest, she talked to him. She was going to make sure he didn't have more acid on him, then figure out a way to get home.

"Its okay Stratos. She's dead. She broke her neck hitting that tree. I know, that wont kill her, but it kept her still long enough for me to. I used her blade.."

His gaze seemed to darken, get kind of sad. She shrugged, the blood was from her elbows down, but she would wash some of it off in the stream. She didn't want it on him at all.

"S'okay, she needed it. I have the blade now, don't worry. We'll figure all that out later. This is gonna to hurt like a bitch, but I'm goin to run some water over your wounds, try to help the poison, okay?"

He couldn't answer, but that was okay. She stepped over to the river, looked around carefully, and found several large thick leaves from a tree. She snatched one, folded it into a bowl of sorts, and filled it with water. It took her a few trips, but she thought the color was returning to him a little as she washed away the blood and poison. Finally satisfied, she took a long swig of water, then sat down beside him.

"How the hell am I going to get your big ass home?"

Her lips lifted as his eyes went exasperated, glaring at her without moving, but she was happy. It seemed like some of it was wearing off, his muscles seemed to be relaxing quickly, not gaining movement but they weren't holding that horrid rigidity, and she wasn't waiting, she was afraid too. He'd told her what could kill them but.. she wasn't risking it. With an idea, she stood, staggered and righted herself. Now was not the time for weakness. 

She stepped to the edge of the woods and reached for the seething pool in her chest. It seemed to answer, but this time without the sharp biting edge of rage.

Thankfully. She had been afraid she'd have to get mad. She looked into the forest, pulled up that magic, because she was certain that's what it was now, and could suddenly hear millions of different notes and songs within the forest. It was overwhelming, and she nearly slammed the door closed again, afraid, but she stopped. 

She had to help Stratos. She _had_ to.

So she tried to make her own sound, and felt the things nearest her go quiet and listen. She made hers soft, tentative, soothing.

"I... I need help... my friend is wounded... I need to.. get back to the court.. I need help, I can't carry him myself... please..."

She warbled, felt the tears touch her throat and stopped, rubbing at her chest to soothe the ache. She could do this, she could. After everything else, the dizzyness, the tiredness she could feel pulling at her, she wasn't crying, wasn't giving in. Not yet. It was probably the magic, she wasn't used to it, she thought Iridius had told her she would be weak for a while before she was used to it. 

She shook her head. Focus damnit!

She knelt down, put herself more at their level. She could tell they were interested, coming closer. She could feel them.

"Please, I need help carrying him back. He's wounded, I need to get him help. I... fuck I don't even know the way back.... _please.._ "

She covered her face with her hands, felt the animals moving, communicating. It was weird, but she sighed and scuffed her hand across her face, fighting the tiny kernal of desperation trying to take root. If she let it, she would never make it work. 

Then she froze as something hot suddenly gusted over her face. It took her a second, then she twitched her hands apart, coming eyes to nose with an animal.

 _A goddamned big one_.

Her mouth fell open as it leaned back, setting down with a heavy thump to peer at her with big violet eyes. _It was a bear_.

A big, mother fucking, fluffy ass, grizzly bear.

With thick silky fur that was a deep purple, and a soft pink nose. She gulped, slowly forcing herself to calm while it continued to look at her and wait.

 _It was waiting_. 

_On her_.

Oh. 

She smacked her hand against her head and sighed, she was an idiot. She'd called for help and one had answered and -

Suddenly she froze, staring at the bear with wide eyes.

"Oh my god I called you and you came... you came. That means its worked! _Ohmygod_ -"

She felt light headed and dizzy as something burst inside her and she laughed out loud, halfway startling the animal who looked at her oddly, then opened its mouth and let out a rumble, tongue lolling, and seemed to be smiling too. She couldn't resist, god it looked like a fucking teddy bear, and she threw her arms around its neck while she laughed and tried not to cry from relief. It went still, then gave a low roar of sound that vibrated her bones and stood, returning her hug with a near bone crushing strength. She wheezed as it dropped her, and gave a shaky laugh as she looked up, and up, at the surely nine foot tall animal. 

Note to self, _do not bear hug bears_ , they win.

Then she turned and hurried back over to Stratos. She really had to work on her a.d.d., damnit. She knelt beside him, and he was entirely dead weight, limp now, muscles relaxed but he still couldn't move. She touched his face, and he looked at her, looking beyond horrified at the gigantic purple bear that towered over her shoulder. 

"Its okay, he's a friend Stratos, he's gonna help okay? Okay, now, you... are gonna have to lay waay down. I'm going to put him on your back, and walk beside you... do you happen to know which way the courts are?"

Stratos looked terrified, and she ignored him. The bear stood on its hind legs, sniffing at the air, turning in a slow circle, before pointing its nose in one direction. It settled back down on all fours, dropping with a ground shaking plop beside the wounded guard and shimmied up until its shoulders were above his head. She grinned and clapped her hands together.

"I'm taking that as a yes! Don't worry darlin we'll get you home and to some help, I know your hurtin..."

It took some careful doing, and the bear reached around to grab his far arm, holding him while she lifted, pushed, shoved, groaned and cursed the heavy soldier. She was as easy as she could be though, despite her efforts, and finally got him up on the bear on his back. She hurried off, getting several lengths of vines, and wrapped them around the bear and Stratos at his hips, hoping his feet dragging the ground wouldn't hurt. But she didn't want him to slip and crack his head open either.

Very carefully, finally ready, the bear stood on all fours, shifted a little, and waited on her. She stepped up until she was flush against the bear and Stratos's side, wrapped his arms around in front of her hips, and looped his hand through her pocket to hold it still. She grabbed one of the intact straps on his far side, held onto his arm to keep him still, and hoped to god this would fucking work.

"Okay boy, slow and steady, easy okay? If this doesn't want to work we'll have to figure something else out... please let this work...."

They took a few rolling steps forward; he barely shifted, moving with the animal as it stepped carefully, and they turned to face the right direction. He wasn't slipping thank god. The pace back was slow and steady, but the animal was patient, continuing carefully, and she kept a close eye on Stratos. He was getting paler, strained lines around his mouth, his eyes pinched, and she knew he was coming back to himself. He was panting, surely in terrible pain, and she rubbed her hand back and forth on his side soothingly.

"Its okay darlin, we'll be back in no time okay?"

He slit open one eye to see her, tried to smile and winced. Her heart constricted and she patted the bear.

"Just a little faster sweetheart, come on."

The bear rumbled, and they picked up the pace some.

 

 

They cleared the treeline and she could see the building. Yes! She patted the bear, and gently disentangled herself, patting its nose while it was just outside the trees.

"Stay right here, I'll get help, but I don't want you to surprise them... might be bad."

The bear dipped his head, and she turned, hurrying up to the marble steps, passing between the golden arches as her heart shot into her throat.

Her dress was torn and ripped, filthy and wet, she had blood splattered in a random pattern, smeared all over her hands and arms, despite her efforts to wash it off it just wouldn't come off in that river, and she was sure her hair and face were just as bad. She was pale and shaky, wide eyed and wild looking.

She just hoped they didn't kill her on the spot and blame her for hurting Stratos.

When she stopped in the hall, hands twisting in what was left of her skirt, some divine power must have been smiling on her. Around the next corner walked one of the guards, head bent as he peered at a long sheaf of parchment in his hands. His dark blonde hair was loose save for several small ones that he had braided and entwined with beads, his skin was a smooth caramel color, literally so much like the sweet she remembered from home she'd had to touch him the first time she met him to see if he was made of the stuff. They had all thought it funny when she had explained. But she knew him, knew his eyes were green and two shades of yellow, knew he was just below Wraith and Stratos in the guard, another friend. She nearly collapsed from relief. Then he turned, speaking to someone behind him, and three more guards turned the corner, all following him as they spoke. Oh yes!

"Sine!!!"

He jerked up, blinking wide eyes at her when she shoutwd, then they went impossibly wider when he got a look at her. He started hurrying over, the other three guards following along quickly, just as surprised.

"I need your help, Stratos was injured and-"

He was suddenly at her side and she staggered on the steps. Damn that boy was fast! He caught her arm, steadying her, and she took a slow deep breath. The other three clustered around her and she pushed through, keeping hold of Sine as she lead them toward the bear.

"This was the only way I could get him back - don't attack it, he's a friend."

The guards shared wide eyed glances but followed at Sine's nod, and they all nearly leapt forward when they saw their captain strapped across the bears back. They went two on each side, cutting the vines, and she stood at the bears head, cooing at him softly and petting his head. One on his back had unnerved him, but the four warriors were making him very nervous. He was kneading the ground with his claws, but he was listening to her.

She looked up as they started to lift him and stopped them.

"Wait! Don't turn his chest, its rally bad, he was doused with poison from the mortifero flower, it got pretty deep.. just be careful please."

They stared down at their captain with looks of horror, and then they shifted around. Sine stepped back, and two crossed their arms under his back, one grabbed his legs, and they lifted him slowly. He groaned and she stepped up to his side, gently touching his cheek. He pried open his eyes, and they were dark with pain, foggy with confusion, but they focused on her.

"Stratos we're back at the courts, the other guards are taking you to the healer okay? Don't fight them or anything, you're safe now, okay?"

He blew out a breath and his eyes slipped closed, his body relaxing, and they all looked at her with looks of surprise. She ignored them and motioned them on.

"I'm coming, go on, please."

They looked just as surprised at her 'please', but dutifully started trotting across the grass. She turned back to see Sine watching her, and then she went back to the bear. It dipped its head, but she dropped to her knees in front of him, wrapping her arms around its neck in a tight hug. This time it curled one arm over her shoulders and barely hugged her back, but it made her tear up. Such a sweet animal.

"Thank you so much. I wouldn't have made it back without your help darlin. But I have to go in and take care of my friend, you go on now... "

The bear stepped back and ran its tongue over her cheek and she winced, huffing a laugh as it turned and eyed Sine, then trotted off into the woods. She stood, and Sine turned to her, looking more surprised than ever.

"I'm following them to stay with Stratos. I'm worried about him. Will you bring the prince to me?"

He seemed taken aback, but he started to nod and hesitated. "I am afraid he may still be in a meeting-"

She put her hands on her hips, and shook her head. "Don't care. Its an emergency, and he will be sure enough mad if you don't go tell him now, no matter what he's doin. And... Wraith too. I doubt you'll have to make one or the other follow, but if they're not together then I still need both of them. Please."

He snapped his heels together and was off like a shot, sprinting off into the building. She hurried up the steps and then with a huff snatched her shoes off, watching the retreating backs of the guards holding Stratos. Barefoot, she raced up the hallway to catch them before she lost them.

 

 

When Tristan burst into the room, hair flying, wild eyed and panting, Wraith was right on his heels. They were in one of the medical rooms, Stratos lying back on the bed comfortably while three healers administered to him, repairing the damage done. One guard by the bed turned and raised a hand.

"He will be fine my Lord. As is your consort, she is-"

Tristan was across the room before the guard had blinked, nose to nose looking down at him with a snarl.

"Did I ask you for your input Veline?"

The guard went wide eyed, snapped his heels together and stuttered back a terse reply. 

"N-no sssssir!!"

Aurora stared, watching as Stratos struggled to sit up in response to the prince's entrance, with the healers pushing him back down to lie still, and Wraith behind the prince in his best at attention stance.

What the hell was going on here?

Tristan flicked his hand and the guard scurried to the side out of the way. He stepped up to the edge of the bed, and the healers all squeezed down, hunching their shoulders and focusing on their patient, as if hoping the prince would ignore them. His back was rigid, his posture stiffly straight, bleeding that arrogance, that royalty she suspected had been beaten into him. The posture she only saw him develop when he was being the prince, in front of his father and mother. 

He reached out and lay a hand on Stratos's shoulder, speaking tersely to the guard who seemed almost... worried? Tristan leaned down with something that was said, turning his head to hear, nodding a few times. He went still then, eyes falling closed, and she met Wraith's gaze as he sent her a look. It was full of something, she didn't know what. She frowned at him, and glanced back at Tristan. What exactly was going on? She'd kind of expected him to at least glance at her, see if she was half dead or maimed or anything. 

Stratos gripped the prince's shoulder while he spoke, and she could tell the healers couldn't hear, or were pretending very well that they couldn't. Tristan shuddered, straightening despite the guards grasping hand, and ignored the hissed word from him. Stratos fell silent and looked at her, _at her_ , and he seemed so tense he would break, worried, and his eyes were full of an apology and a silent plea for something. 

What the fuck was going on?!

She forgot everything else as the healers all cowered, and she _felt_ the power roil across the room as Tristan turned to face her for the first time since he'd entered the room. His gaze felt like a weight, scalding in its intensity, and his eyes flashed. She could smell the ocean, feel the wind pushing forward from him in a wave of electricity that almost crackled. He came toward her, hands in fists, eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, hair and robes billowing in the wind from his own power; and as he grew closer to her she could almost hear the roaring of a hurricane, see the blue marks on his arms flickering. Her breath caught in her throat, and she slid down to stand, to be ready, because he was furious. So mad that his power was slipping the leash he held it under. She felt a tremor run up her spine, because this wasn't Tristan.

 _This was the Royal Prince, the only Heir to the High King of the Seelie Court, and that was a whole different person_. 

When he reached her he barely paused, just long enough to flash his hand out in a movement she barely saw a blur of, and grab her upper arm in a steely hold. His lips curled back as he leaned toward her, eyes lighting up with a burst of lightening that sent sparks dancing across her skin in stinging bites of power, and he bit out an order between his teeth.

"We must speak. _Now_."

It wasn't a question. He half lifted, half dragged her, to the door, and Wraith stepped out first, stepping to the next door down and opening it with half a bow. Tristan drug her there as the guard stepped inside and flung her in. She stumbled, hitting one of the beds with a muffled curse and catching it before she fell. She straightened and whirled, her temper kicking up, and came face to face with the prince. She gasped in surprise at him just suddenly being there, and the door slammed behind him like a shot in the silence with only a thought from him. Wraith put his back to the wall, watching with a worried expression, standing loose and ready. For what?

  
But she was watching the prince who was fuming, who clamped his hands around her upper arms and shook her once, yanking her against him and bending down to snarl at her. It forced her off balance as she leaned back, wide eyed as a tremor ran down her spine, and she put her hands against his chest in a small movement of defense. His chest heaved with his breath, and he growled out one question that she felt rumble through him, teeth snapping together as he focused solely on her.

" _What have you done_?!"

She swallowed hard enough that she heard the click of her own throat, felt her knees wobble, and all she could think was that she'd really fucked up this time. Fuck. She opened her mouth and nothing came out, she knew she was going to start stuttering, and he made a low sound of anger, shaking her once again, hard enough to make her teeth chatter.

" _Answer me!!_ "

Her temper flared despite her better sense, and she shouted back at him.

" _I KILLED ROSALYN!_ "

He froze, and so did she. What the fuck was wrong with her, saying it like that? 

His nostrils flared, his eyes went wide, then narrowed, and she felt all of the power, the boiling energy pull back and pause. It was the scariest thing she'd seen, scarier even than when Iridius had done it, and she was forcefully reminded of the deceiving silence in the eye of a tornado. 

"So, _you_ really killed her?" 

He emphasized 'you', and she held in the desire to literally cower down as he straightened, looking down at her with that perfect posture. And waited.

"I-I had to Tristan sh-she-"

He jerked her up to eye level with him, his hands bruising on her arms as her feet dangled off the floor and she grabbed his shoulders with a yelp of fear.

"It is a simple answer!!"

"Put me down y-you asshole!"

He froze again, blinking slowly as he lowered his gaze to his hands on her arms, then down. He sat her down abruptly, taking several steps back, and he shuddered, covering his face with his hands as if he couldn't bear it.

"Tell me... tell me you did not do this!"

His voice rolled like the distant rumble of thunder. She rubbed her arms, then straightened up, lifting her chin.

"I did it. I killed her."

She saw Wraith flinch from the corner of her eye, and the prince bellowed once as his anger erupted. He slashed his hand through the air and she covered her face, staggering backwards as wind howled through the room. She heard a crash, heard thunder shake the very floor, and when she peered through her hands the demolished remains of an empty bed lay in pieces in front of him. He was heaving for breath, that wind surrounding him again. He whirled, and his face was flushed, eyes glowing as he pointed an accusatory finger at her.

" _WHAT GAVE YOU THE RIGHT?_ What makes - what makes you think you can just - just -"

He stammered off, whirling in place and fisting his hands in his hair, tugging as he started to pace furiously. 

"When she attacked us-!"

He turned, cutting her off with another slash of his hand and a low crack of thunder.

"How could you?! Why - _why would you think that was okay_ -?"

"Its  _not_ okay but its all I could-"

He stormed toward her again, and instead of cowering again she stiffened her spine. Something flickered in his gaze, like a challenge. _Whoa whoa whoa wait_ -

He got right in her face again, hands balled into fists at his sides, and snarled at her.

"Why? Why did you think you had to?!"

"I was protecting Stratos! SHE did that to him! I was protecting you-"

He barked a derisive laugh and leaned back, shaking his head as he curled his lip at her.

"Protecting _me_?"

"Yes protec-"

"I do not believe this!"

He turned and paced off near the window, running his hands through his hair and shaking his head again.

"This is - this is madness why would you -"

She held up her hands, pleading. "She was going to kill us both and come back here to you and-"

He whirled, flung both of his arms out as his voice echoed, boomed across the room, just ahead of a blast of air that sent her staggering backwards.  
" _WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I NEED PROTECTING?! THINK YOU I CANNOT DEFEND MYSELF_?"

She grunted when she hit a wall, and then realized as it caught her and she glanced up that Wraith had moved and caught her. His hands clamped on her arms, and he stared over her head at the prince, his body rigid, and she heard the rumble of a second storm echo the first. _Oh shit_.

She had to figure out what to say to calm this down now.

"Th-that's not what I said Tristan-"

He turned away, trembling with the force of his anger, and Wraith stepped around her. She watched, holding her breath, as the guard walked over and lowered his voice, keeping his stance tall, wide, imposing. Her eyes widened. _Oh no_ -

"My Lord perhaps you should listen to her-"

She flinched as Tristan whirled on the guard, eyes dripping sparks as he snarled.

"You would side with her against your people?"

Wraith stiffened further if possible. "No sire I simply meant-"

"You meant _WHAT_?!"

Tristan bellowed, and she had the strongest urge to go get Stratos. She knew he would know what to do, but she didn't think Wraith would. 

"I meant only that you should allow her to explain what has happened before-"

" _I KNOW_ what has happened!"

She straightened, eyes wide. How could he have known? Then why was he-

"Rosalyn was right!"

Wraith reacted as if he had been slapped, whipping his head to the side to see her. Her jaw fell open, and Tristan hesitated, tilted his head to look at her in the sudden silence as Wraith took a step back from him. For a moment she only stared, disbelieving, and then that dark, cloying, strangling fury erupted in her chest.

" _YOU BASTARD_!"

Tristan's jaw dropped, and she stomped toward him, shaking, teeth clenched so tightly that they ground together. That thing inside her chest stretched, curled, slid under her skin, and she started hearing the faint echoes of music.

" _How DARE you_!"

Tristan shook his head, shaking away the momentary hesitation as he growled. Then he was stomping towards her, stride quick and angry, and met her halfway across the room.

" _HOW DARE_ I?! YOU have killed one of my people in cold blood just to secure your place of power by my side! "

She only stared at him a moment before she balled up her fists and yelled back at him.

" _THAT'S NOT WHY I KILLED HER YOU POMPOUS IDIOT_!"

He straightened, squaring his shoulders, and stared down at her as he crossed his arms.

"Then why else would you have?"

She flung up both her hands with a shriek of frustration, sending a gust of wind tearing up and across the ceiling. He froze in shock, and she continued her rant, oblivious as she shook a finger at him.

"If you would let me explain what happened like I've been _TRYING_ to, you would know!"

She took in several slow deep breathe before she started to hyperventilate. God she'd never been so fucking mad before! 

Wraith stepped up to the prince's side, staring pointedly at him when Tristan turned to glare at him. She watched his jaw clench hard enough to chip something, but he turned back to her and flung his hand out in a go ahead gesture. 

"Then by all means, explain to us what would lead you to kill her."

She snarled, felt it rumble up her spine and out of her throat before she caught it, and he looked surprised.

"You want to know what happened? Fine! Iridius was called away to tend a hurt child, and told me and Stratos to continue as we had been, he wanted me to practice my magic. So we went on a walk through the damned woods and lo and fucking behold guess who shows up out there at that same place I stopped at last time, with the golden trees?"

She slapped her hands on her hips, continuing despite Tristan's frown.

"Ten points! Rosalyn! Stratos snaps at her, and she goes into a damned meltdown the likes of which would rival those desperate housewife bitches-"

She ignored the confused tilt of his head and Wraith's wondering frown, and rambled on.

"She starts screaming about how she's going to kill both of us and come back to the courts so she can be here to 'comfort you' when you find out about our sudden mysterious deaths!"

Tristan's eyes widened, and she laughed, a sarcastic bark of sound that made Wraith flinch.

"So then she attacks Stratos, after she pulls out this blade she's got and has it covered in the poison from the mortifero flower, which yes, that's whats all over Stratos. She had a vial of it in her other hand, and when they tied up she slammed it into his chest, breaking the vial and getting that fucking acid _all over him_!"

  
Her voice rose to a shout at the end, and both men's eyes widened. She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, horrified all over again at the memory of his chest sizzling, the blood and bone and-

"I-it just... he just locked up, fell... he hit the ground and he told me to run, told me to get away before the paralysis completely kicked in but - but I ... _I WASN'T LEAVING HIM THERE TO DIE_!"

She screamed it at them, absolutely furious all over again, wanting nothing more than to go back out there and bury the blade in that body again, over and over again, just to make sure she was really dead. Tristan's jaw dropped, as did Wraith's, but she didn't care. She was too damned mad.

"That's why my damn dress is ripped!"

She held the edges up with a shaking hand, glaring down at it.

"I ripped half of it off to get as much of the acid off his chest as I could, and then threw that part away. I put another piece there to soak up the rest, and I was just - I was _SO MAD_! I stood up to face her while she LAUGHED, about hurting him, about how we were both going to die! So I pulled out my own damned blade, and she still thinks its funny! So yeah, we tied up! Blade to blade!"

She looked down at her hands, spread them out, palms up, shaking, stared at them as though they weren't hers.

"I've .... I let go. I stopped bottling up the rage, the fury, and suddenly I could _hear_ the magic! I could hear hers, I could hear Stratos, the forest, my own! I could... I could hear the storm that was coming up over head! I twisted and shoved her off, cut her cheek with a lucky shot, and then she was mad. But then she acted all surprised and then even madder, screaming about how I didn't have magic, but my eyes were glowing."

There was silence in the room, and she knew, though she wouldn't look at them, that they had both gone utterly still. Waiting.

"I could hear it like music, and as she screeched at me, I heard the lightening, the difference in the song around my hands and that. And I thought... I just.. I wanted to match it. So I did, I pushed it, and it changed. I dropped my blade, and she ran at me with hers and I just... the pitch matched right as she reached me, and I caught her wrists to keep her from plunging the damned dagger into my face! But when I did it was like an explosion, of light and sound and heat - and - and just - .... when I could see again, it had blown her across the clearing. She'd broken her back on a tree, cracked the tree, and lay beneath it, bloody and twisted. But she was still looking at me, with so much.. so much hate and rage, and trying to move her mouth, to keep threatening me! I know she was.... she'd dropped her blade in front of me when it happened, and I picked it up. I knew then, _I KNEW SHE WASN'T GOING TO STOP_!"

Her voice cracked, half a ragged sob tearing past her throat, and she choked it back, pressing her shaking fist against her mouth while she forced air into her lungs. When she could breath again, she continued, finally raising her eyes to meet his. He was trembling, hands fisted at his sides, and she copied him, curling her lip in a sneer.

"She couldn't move, but she was healing, I could SEE it already, so _I plunged the damned blade into her heart and ended it right there_!"

Tristan stared at her for a few heartbeats, finally whirling on his heel to pace away, stopping in front of the window to stare outside. He clasped his hands behind his back, stance rigid, and simply stood there. Wraith didn't move, just continued to stare at her with dark, furious eyes. She sighed as most of the fight suddenly drained from her in a rush.

"So I tried to tend Stratos. Since I'd unlocked my magic, I did what I could to call for help and got..... got a bear to help me. You can ask Sine about that, he was walking by with those other guards when we made it back to the palace. I couldn't carry him, but he needed help so that's all I could think to do. That's it."

Wraith looked stunned, and turned to see the prince, standing in shadow against the light from outside. When the silence grew, stretched into what felt like an eternity, she finally dropped her hands, shoulders slumping.

"Look Tristan I'm sorry."

He twitched, and turned slowly, rotating his foot, stopped when just his face was in profile to her, looking down at the ground but listening to her.

"Why?"

She tilted her head, glanced questioningly at Wraith who looked just as thunderstruck, and decided to go with the truth.

"For Stratos getting hurt...."

He turned to face her, hands still behind his back, and it put his face in shadows, but she could see his eyes blazing.

"For all this happening because of me..."

He started walking over, slowly, shoes silent over the stone floors. He stopped in front of her, too close, and she could hear the distant rumble of thunder. She reached down and slide the blade out from the sheath by hers, curling her hand around it and pressing it against her chest. He never looked at it, not once.

"For upsetting you, and .... for thinking it would just be okay, I guess. I even brought her stupid blade back to give to you because I thought you'd want it..."

She looked down, brought her other hand up to hover over the blade, and he stepped forward, bringing up one hand. He tipped her chin up with one finger, face set in harsh lines, eyes still flashing with bolts of lightening.

"Is that all?"

She knew then, what he meant. Her lips thinned, temper spiking again, and she glared at him.

"Hell yes it-"

She cut off with a gasp as his hand palmed her throat and he carried her backwards in one quick move, slamming her back against the wall. She automatically clenched both hands around the knife and held it to her chest as his fingers curled around her throat. He brought his other hand up and landed it against the wall hard enough that it sounded like the boom of thunder. Then he crowded her, pressed her against the wall, a trembling line of heat and fury, almost nose to nose with her as he roared at her. It was so damn fast her head spun.

" _BUT YOU ARE NOT SORRY FOR KILLING HER_?!"

Her hands twitched, tightened around the blade as she wheezed. He loosened his hold, just enough for her to get in a clean breath, and she snarled back at him, voice low and even.

" _No_."

He reared back and punched his fist into the wall, and she turned her head away, trying not to cough at the plume of rocks and dust that erupted around his hand as it buried inches into the stone wall. His voice was still a roar, the blue under his skin a steady light, his eyes still dripping sparks, and he pushed his fingers into her throat again. She knew she would carry a perfect outline of those finger prints.

" _WHY_?!?"

She swallowed, took in a long breath, and met his gaze again. She wasn't going to cower to him; she might apologize for something she thought she should, but she wouldn't fucking cower.

"Because I was protecting people that I damn well care for! I was protecting Stratos! I was protecting Wraith! And - and I was protecting _YOU_!"

His hand loosened instantly as his eyes went wide, his lips parting as he stared at her in shock. She locked her jaw and held his stare, daring him. Waiting. 

"I.. I do not...... you..."

He dropped his hand to rest on her collar, uncurling his fist to lean against the wall. She wondered if it had finally clicked for him, or if he still thought she was lying. His eyes suddenly sharpened, pupils blowing wide as his nose flared, and he jerked his gaze down to her chest, to her hands. She followed his gaze, wary, and realized she was bleeding. Shit.

He brought both hands up to cup hers as she uncurled her fingers from around the blade, hissing as the feeling returned with a burning pain. She'd cut through her palm and fingers where she'd wrapped them around the blade; she hadn't noticed, but he must have smelled the blood.

He just stood there, staring, for several minutes she thought, and she couldn't even bring herself to say anything really. It was her own fault, all of it. Her blood welled up and pooled along the blade, running over the dried blood from the other sidhe woman, and one drop formed on the tip before dripping off to splatter onto the floor.

"Shit..."

She muttered, glaring at her hands, and he swallowed, looking back up at her as he took her hurt hand gently into his. The rigid set of his shoulders had loosened, the roar of the ocean, the whip of the wind, was gone.

"You really were... trying to protect us... and still, despite all of this... despite how I just treated you... you were still trying to protect me..."

She glared at her hand, not meeting his eyes, still muttering. "Maybe I just didn't want to stab you by accident. Maybe I just wanted to stab you on purpose and make it worth it later."

He snorted, and she found her lips twitching. God damnit. 

He fit his hand over her hurt one and she tensed a little, relaxing at his low murmur as he caught her other wrist. Warmth skittered over her palm, and a sigh slipped out before she could stop it as the pain faded away. After a few moments he released her hand and she looked, seeing her hand completely healed. She glanced up at him with a small frown, questioning. He reached up to press the back of his knuckles lightly against her cheek.

"Forgive me flower... I should have listened to you..."

She looked back down, and shrugged a shoulder but he put his hand on her chin and made her look back up.

"No. You were right. I should have thought better of you... I should not have let Rosalyn's poisonous words make me doubt what I thought I knew..."

She finally held his gaze, and after a few moments, nodded. "Don't apologize for that. You're the prince, I mean, y'know, you have to put your people first... I understand why you kinda freaked out."

His lips thinned and he looked down.

"Yes... we will have to go to 'my people' and explain this-"

She was wondering over why he'd said it like that, with almost a bitter twist to his words, when she realized he'd cut off and was staring down with horrified shock on his face. She looked down curiously, half expecting to have been hanging out of her dress or something.

"Dude, what? What's wrong?"

He took a few steps back, pointing at the blade in her hand with his jaw hanging, and she frowned at him, holding it up, then out towards him.

"Yeah I know. Its super prissy, but I told you I was bringing it to you. I don't want the thing."

"W-Wraith is that not-"

The guard stepped up, frowning at the blade in her hand, before he too paled, staring in shock. She frowned again.

"What the hell is wrong with y'all? I wiped the poison off of it, I wouldn't have tried to give it to you otherwise!"

"That is .. Odin's dagger..."

The guard dropped his voice to a whisper, and suddenly Tristan was back in front of her while Wraith started looking around as if they were being watched. What the fuck.

"What-"

"Where did you get that?!"

Tristan hissed, and she huffed at him.

"I already told you it was was the one Rosalyn had!"

He stared at her in shock, turning to look at Wraith to see if he had heard. The guard was gaping at her too. He suddenly shook it off, turning a look that was steely to the prince.

"We must go to the King."

Tristan stared at him a moment turning back to look at her, then the blade. He was silent, thinking, and she gestured with her free hand in exasperation.

"Will one of you tell my why you're freaking out now?!"

Wraith stepped closer, dropped his voice as he looked around warily, and answered her while Tristan seemed to still be deep in thought.

"That is one of the few blades left that can bring true death to a Sidhe. It is supposed to be locked in the royal vault, to which very few people have any access too. Such as the head guards and scholars, and the King and Queen."

She stared at him for a full five seconds before it registered, and her mouth fell open.

" _Oh shit_."

Tristan jerked suddenly, curling his hand around hers where she held the blade and pushing it towards her. The grin that curled his lips was devilishly gleeful, and she stared for a moment before she felt a responding one trying to surface.

"What?"

"You keep that where it was. Bring it out when I tell you to, and only then, okay?"

She nodded, confused, about to ask, and he turned to look at Wraith, still talking.

"Wraith. I want you get Sine to send out someone to check on Iridius. It could have been a trap to lure him outside the palace, he could be hurt."

Wraith straightened, face tightening with instant worry at the thought as he jerked his head in an instant nod.

"You do that, and we are going to check on Stratos. If he is well enough, I want you, him, and Sine all with me. We are going to tell my father about what has happened."

Wraith paled. "B-but m'lord he is still in court! You can not-"

Tristan's smile was purely wicked, and full of challenge. "Oh yes Wraith. We are going to interrupt the High King's court, and tell them the news."

She looked back and forth between them, wide eyed as Wraith reluctantly agreed, and finally let her own answering smile show as Tristan turned to her again.

All hell was about to break loose.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote one of these scenes like twenty seven and three-eights times before it was how I wanted it ahahahahaaa..... *forehead into desk*


	8. Enter: The Other King

"Wait wait wait!" 

Wraith was already out the door, going to talk with Sine she imagined, and Tristan paused, pretending not to watch avidly while she hiked up her skirt to slide the dagger back into the sheath on her thigh. She ignored him as she tightened the straps so it wouldn't fall and finally asked him about what was bothering her.

Good lord they were about to start some serious drama.

"Before we go running off to the throne room, give me some sort of game plan so I know, at least a _little_ about what to expect..."

He stared at her a moment, blinking slowly, before he started to smile.

"We are going to cause the Seelie court to fall into uproar."

Her lips twitched. "So we're gonna go start some shit. Okay... but one thing... are you...I'm going to assume that everyone else is probably going to react like you did, at least at first... are you on my side in this?"

His face fell into serious lines, and he nodded, reaching out to take her hand.

"Yes flower, I am. I understand why you did it, and why you felt like you had to. I am still-"

She reached up and covered his mouth before he could apologize and shook her head.

"Don't. You're a prince first. So its okay. But I hear you... so okay. Lets go get the Storm lord and drag his limping heavy ass to the courtroom."

"Hey!"

She sniggered at the indignant squawk from the doorway, and Tristan turned, already laughing. She grinned impishly and walked over to slide her arms around him and give the injured guard a very light hug. He snorted at her, eyes twinkling.

"I saw you walk up, you know I was just kidding. Are you gonna be okay though?"

She knew she probably looked like a little kid, peering up at him with puppy eyes, but she had told Tristan the truth. In her short time here, she had come to care for them. They were like family now too.

Stratos grinned down at her cheekily and wrapped her in a one armed hug, although still careful with his torso.

"I am almost completely healed. Everything is working fine. Just a bit sore, since I would not let them take the time to finish once Wraith said I was needed. But.. are you both alright? I heard the.. fighting."

His arm tightened around her a little, as he looked from her to Tristan as the prince walked up. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back to hug her and let her go, turning a soft smile to her.

"Yes. Everything is fine now. But we have a plan Stratos, and I think you will go along with it."

The captains eyebrows went up in question, and quietly the prince explained to him what he wanted to do. The farther into the explanation he got, the wider the captains grin grew. 

"To quote the lady, if I am using this correctly, _Hell Yes_."

Tristan roared, and she choked, laughing hard enough to tear up. "Yes!"

 

 

By the time Wraith returned, just a few minutes later, they had Stratos completely caught up. Sine was right on his heels, and they took a few more minutes to fill him in. He looked nervous at first, but finally started to grin. 

She glanced around at the four of them with a snort and a roll of her eyes. These guys could have been vikings, or Scottish. After all, with their apparent love of fighting just to be fighting, even though they were going to go bust up in the High King's throne room while he was having court, they were all excited. 

_Men_.

Then she glanced down at herself and held up an imperious hand.

"First things first, I need a change of clothes."

The guys all shared a look, and Stratos looked thoughtful. Tristan nodded.

"Good idea, it will help with the image."

Stratos backed up a few steps and waved them off.

"I will meet you all there, I am going to go change as well."

She glanced at Tristan as they walked toward her room and snorted.

"M'not worried about the image, I just don't want my friggin hoohah hangin out."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, lips twitching.

"I fear I may have actually translated that correctly, and I do not wish to know if I did."

She snickered and shook her head.

 

 

They reached their rooms and let Wraith enter first at his insistence. He came back and nodded.

"Go ahead, your hand maiden is preparing Chopper for his daily walk."

She smiled and rushed inside, smiling widely as she saw Belle and Chopper. Belle gasped, looking horrified, and Chopper barked happily.

"Hi there baby, how's mommas baby hmm?"

She got down as he ran over, tail flopping madly, and roughed her hands over his head, petting him while she cooed at him. Tristan stepped behind her and held up a hand to forestall the impending meltdown from the woman.

"She is fine, we are on our way to see my father now. Do not worry. I am sure you will hear all about the mishap soon."

Aurora looked up and winked, making Belle's face slide into a small hesitant smile as she relaxed.

"Well, I still need to change. I had been thinking we could take Chopper but... well, this may get ugly and I don't want him in there. Plus, he definitely needs his exercise. Thank you for taking such good care of him Belle."

The maid flushed and dipped her head, picking up his leash from the end of the table beside her and nodded.

"Of course my lady. We will get out from underfoot then..."

She petted Chopper one more time, laughing when as soon as Belle snapped his leash on he bolted out the door, pulling her along like a bag of potatoes. 

"Poor Belle..."

The guys chuckled, and she walked over to her closet, still smiling as she opened the door. Tristan cleared his throat, suddenly almost materializing at her side, and held something out that was folded up. She blinked at him in confusion as he gestured with it, cheeks darkening to a dull pink.

"H-here, I had Marcellus make a few things that were... not on the original list, and I think this one may serve your purposes well for today.."

Her eyebrows hiked up as curiosity overtook her and she took the fabric from him, tilting her head as she grabbed what looked like the edges and let the rest fall to the floor in a hiss of silk. She gaped for a full minute.

"Holy shit Tristan..."

"Is that... a good exclamation?"

Her lips twitched up, and she looked up at him with a wide smile that made his shoulders relax instantly.

"Yes, it totally is! I'm so going to put this on right now."

She dashed off to the bathroom amidst chuckles from all of them.

When she's finally shimmied into the damned thing, she stop there staring at herself in the mirror for a few minutes. She knew, really, that she looked different now. She'd lost some weight, after all, her eating here was entirely different from at home, and there weren't a shit ton of mountain dews for her to drink everyday. That alone was a lot of it, but all the walking and moving and such was showing too. Hell, Marcellus had already had to take her clothes that he'd made, (what, a week ago?), and refit them to her. She just, couldn't really get over it. 

So maybe she usually had some serious self esteem issues. Big whoop. But then Tristan had just handed her this outfit, and looked so freaking proud of himself.

She'd been excited at first, and now she wasn't sure. 

She turned to the left, then right, then faced the mirror again. Huh. Thing was, she thought it looked awesome, and she was kind of freaked out by that fact alone.   
The top was an actual corset that went down past her belly button. She'd had a few back home, and they just didn't make them for girls that were tall or long waisted. But Marcellus had outdone himself. 

The whole top of the dress was pitch black, shimmering in the light, and she thought totally awesome. It had two straps that went up over her shoulders, and all down both sides were black and silver buckles and straps that adjusted it. They also were weapon holders. She knew because she'd investigated the guards 'uniforms', which the tops were literally made of straps to hold weapons. She didn't have all those weapons, but she thought it was awesome as hell that she kind of matched the guys with it. The top itself went down over her hips but was a but loose there, rounded to fit, and dipped down to a vee in the front to the top of her thighs. From there it had a skirt attached underneath that hung in four pieces, all slit nearly up to mid thigh. There was a wider strip in the front and back, and one on each side, (actually covering everything, wow.), and they positively floated as she moved, swirling as she spun around once and laughed at herself. It started pitch black and started fading into another color, so that the bottom of the skirts were a bright emerald green. It even had a pair of soft knee high black boots with it that had a slight heel and the same emerald green accents stitched around them. 

What had surprised her was when she'd shook out the dress to find not only the boots, but two holsters. One of which was for the 1911. It slung low around her hips, attached to the inside of the corset, and she could put the gun in the holster on her hip. It would be noticeable, somewhat, but they didn't know what it was. She did fit her machete into one of the sheaths that slid across her back, which she thought awesome, and then adjusted the other holster around her thigh so that she could but Odin's dagger into it, hiding it under the front panel of the skirt. Then she slipped into her room and grabbed up the gun from its usual perch under her pillow, checked it, and chambered a round. She snatched up the other two magazines and slid them onto her opposite hip where Marcellus had put the two slots specifically for them, and then she took a few steps around. Sure, the gun was heavier than her .380 that she normally carried, but oh well. She glanced down and realized with a wince that the boots had more of a heel, and arch, than she'd thought. It was okay, they were super comfortable, but when she put her feet in a pair of heels and tried to walk, she couldn't. _Walk_ , that is. She could run, or jump, or screw off, but she couldn't walk. _She strutted_.

She sighed and moved towards the mirrors again, running her hands through her hair, which she was kind of glad now that Belle had straightened for her that morning, and shook it out. It fell over her shoulders as she looked in the mirror, watched how her hips rolled, her back stayed damned straight, shoulder back, and she shook her head with a laugh. But she liked it, and her smile widened, took on a mischievous edge.

This was going to be fun.

 

 

When she turned and walked out of the bathroom and into the princes room where they all waited, she was grinning. And oh look, Stratos was back. But damnit she was strutting and she couldn't help it. Maybe they wouldn't notice. She looked down at her feet, then at the far wall, and everywhere besides at them.

Then Stratos, the only one facing her from the circle of the four of them, caught sight of her. He was standing across from Tristan, with Wraith and Sine on either side, deep in some conversation they had all been chuckling at. His jaw dropped and he reached out both hands to smack the guard on either side of him, then reached across to literally grab Tristan's face. The other two looked at him curiously then followed his gaze as he twisted the prince around so he was looking.

It was the sudden silence that caught her attention. She swung her gaze back, saw them all staring, mouths open and eyes wide, and actually turned around to look behind her.

"What? Guys?"

She turned back with a small frown as she cocked her head to the side. T'hell were they looking at? Oh. She looked down and put her hand on her gun, giving them a sheepish grin. 

"Oh. Its okay if I wear this, right? Guys?"

Stratos nodded, and suddenly Tristan shook his head, clearing his throat and glancing at the other guys. He glared pointedly at them, and they all wiped their expressions. She was still frowning as Tristan turned back and smiled at her.

"It is fine, and you look magnificent."

She looked down and snorted, then put her hands on her hips. He looked taken aback for a moment, then started toward her. The other men shared incredulous looks, eyebrows raised, before they looked back. She eyed the prince warily as he stopped in front of her, face set in stern lines as he crossed his arms.

"I do not know what goes on in this world you come from that makes you think you should doubt a compliment about your beauty."

She winced at his words, lifting a shoulder in a small shrug, and stared at the floor. He reached out and grabbed her chin, lightly, but hard enough that he lifted her chin to look at him.

"Does my opinion mean nothing to you?"

Her eyes widened. "Well of course it does but-"

"And what of Wraith? And Sine?"

She glanced at them, babbling as they smiled. "Well yeah b-but-"

"And Stratos?"

She looked at him as he grinned, sending her a wink and she felt herself giving in with a huff.

"Of course Tristan..."

He smiled, genuine as he let go and swiped his thumb across her chin as if to erase where he'd grabbed her; like it had hurt. She rolled her eyes, trying to sulk.

"Then stop disagreeing with me, and the lot of us. You are a sight to behold, now, come. We shall show you off to the entire court."

He wiggled his eyebrows and she couldn't stop the laughter that sprang up, because she _knew_ he'd had to have learned that from Stratos. Imp. He stepped back and held out his arm, and she looped her hand through his, giving him a cheeky grin.

As the guards fell into step in a triangle around them, Tristan leaned down and his smile was infectious, and promised trouble.

"We are going to blow open the main doors of the courtroom, since they are warded to hold out intruders during the proceedings, and enter as if...."

He seemed to be searching for words, and she chirped up helpfully. "As if you're already King and own the place?"

He snorted and nodded, straightening up and still smiling. "That sounds good. And it means, that since you are my consort, you must walk as if you are Queen of all."

She laughed. "So what, I need to channel my inner stripper?"

He side eyed her, raising a questioning eyebrow, and she nearly stumbled as she flushed. 

"Oh uhm... well... it means... ah... my ah.. inner confidence... y'know, to strut out there and hold my head up high."

He made a sound of acknowledgement and nodded. "Sounds good. Do that then."

Her lips twitched, and she told herself she would actually explain that one later. Maybe.

Then she took the radio in her head that was always playing in the background and started flipping through stations to find something to help. She thought she'd found one, when Tristan's next words had the stereo skipping and screeching to a halt and she gaped at him.

"Wh-what?!"

"I said, I want you to use your magic to open the doors."

"B-b I don't know - I can't just - how am I suppose to -"

He patted her hand on his arm, and gave her a smile. "However you wish flower."

She stared up at him as they walked and he pulled her along, and she knew she was going to have to make this good. But the only music she'd heard before was the storm. She didn't really want to accidentally rain on anyone's parade, literally. ugh. Then she got an idea. 

"Hey Tristan?"

He hummed in his throat, lifting an eyebrow as he glanced down at her. She started to grin.

"I need to hear the music so I can copy it since I haven't really figured out how to build it on my own yet-"

He frowned in confusion, and Stratos and Wraith both turned incredulous looks to her.

"-so, could you kind of, call your magic?"

He flat out stopped walking to stare at her, eyes going a bit wide. Sine staggered to a halt behind them, confusion on his face, and the other two guards looked bug eyed too. She frowned.

"What? You do it all the time. Is is... taboo to ask?"

He swallowed and shook his head, glancing at Wraith, then Stratos, and back to her.

"Ah.. no, it is not taboo, just an unusual request. Are you sure that you could.. handle that?"

She felt a flush starting in her cheeks and willed it away, trying to smile at him confidently.

"I won't know till I try, right?"

He stared at her another moment before he dipped his head in a nod and they started walking again.

"I suppose you are right flower... just.. be careful then."

She nodded, taking a deep breath, and reached for that same pool inside her. As soon as she hit it, she could hear the low, almost neutral, hum of her own magic. Then the very different hums coming from each of the men around her. Huh. She and Iridius were going to have a long talk about this later, because he'd never mentioned the music before in connection to magic. Then she was blindsided, and completely distracted, as Tristan called his power.

It was only just barely, she was sure not even enough to raise the eyebrow of anyone not as close to him as she was, but it was _amazing_. She realized then, since it was the first time she could look at it and compare it to anything, just how powerful the Prince was. He was barely flexing his finger on a magical scale, and it was five times the power of the storm she'd been in outside. Daaaaaaamn. No wonder he'd asked about whether she was sure. He was afraid he might fry her. Good point. But she was stubborn, and she had started it, and would finish it.

So she listened to the thrum of music, the low pulse of waves, the sigh of the wind, the sway of soft clouds, and, almost easily, matched her pitch to mimic it. He whipped around to see her, and she grinned at him triumphantly. He seemed stunned, but a flicker passed through his eyes, and she caught the distant crash of lightening, the boom of thunder, and how the wind picked up, grew faster, the sea beginning to churn restlessly. She felt the challenge more than anything, and her lips quirked up as she took a deep breath.

It took her a little bit longer this time, closer to a minute, before she matched it again. The guards were walking but watching them with one eye, full of shock, and she couldn't stop grinning. The stiffness loosened from her, bled out with the magic pulsing through her system, and she knew she was almost prowling as she walked. Tristan's steps hesitated before he followed her lead, lips curving in an answering smile, confidence pouring off them both. Their hair shifted in the wind circling them, and her eyes were starting to flash with each strike of lightening. His smile turned proud as he tilted his head at her, and she lifted her chin a little higher in response.

But she couldn't stop staring into his eyes, because she could she the gathering storm, the knowledge of what they were about to do, and the echo of the maelstrom from earlier when he'd been so furious. She could practically taste the ocean, feel the fresh air, the static building in the air and dancing over her skin, arcing where they touched.

They passed the last corner, now yards away as they walked purposefully toward the two great doors that lead into the Seelie court. She heard Stratos's furious whisper and the edge of his laughter as he and Wraith hurried to keep up with their long strides.

"Almost there. And remember, we're suppose to be _guarding_ the two of you, not walking behind like an entourage."

Her and Tristan's laughs broke the contact and they both turned to look. There were two guards standing in front of the doors, and they both tensed, going pale, wide eyed, and looked well beyond alarmed.

"Y-Your Highness, how may we-"

Tristan waved an imperious hand, and they barely slowed their walk, and she thought it was only to compensate Stratos. 

"Caomh, Eógan, step aside. We must speak with the King and Queen at once."

They shared matching looks of distress, obviously hesitant to disobey either orders.

"B-but Sire, the court is in and the -"

"You can move, or we can make you."

Both of them halfway smiled, almost relieved she thought, and quickly stepped to the sides. As they continued forward, she looked at the door, shimmering with an iridescent ward that seemed superimposed over the door, and wondered how she'd never seen it before. Tristan squeezed her hand, and she jerked. Oh, right, that was her cue. 

She took a deep breath as the butterflies in her stomach went crazy, and then quieted. Everything seemed to slow down as she pulled up the music, wove it around her, watched it twirl in a restless almost wild arc down her arm to her free hand. Then she raised her hand, heard the roll of thunder, and pointed her palm at the center of the doors, and consequently, the ward. She'd really only meant to send the wind to bash the doors open, but where there is thunder, there is lightening.   
Wind howled forward, hit the doors and parted, sending both guards to covering their faces as they staggered with a yelp of surprise. Then she felt it catch, spark deep in her chest, and she had enough time to think, _oh shit_ , when the lightening flashed behind her eyes, and roared out of her palm like she had conjured it. Which she kind of had, just not purposefully. It slammed into the ward in a shower of sparks, lighting it up impossibly bright in a surge of heat, and then the ward was gone, shattering into a million pieces, the wind turning and battering the doors so that once the ward was down they crashed open in one movement, with smaller bolts of lightening dancing from the doorway back to her hand. 

There was dead silence in the court of the Seelie, and she was quite proud of herself.

As they walked through the doorway, she clenched her fist, and the lightening and wind died instantly. Suddenly the Seelie all came back to themselves with a roar of shouting and yelling, people gesturing wildly and waving their arms, some red faced and other still white with shock. Stratos, Wraith, and Sine were all stone faced, imposing and threatening as they boxed in her and Tristan. Her smile had died the moment she'd unleashed the magic, and she could hear, even with the connection dropped, the way the sight of his father had instantly brought back every drop of rage that Tristan had shown earlier. 

All of the Seelie were still going on, a huge cacophony of sound battering her ears, but she didn't look around at them. They walked in as if they owned the place, sauntering down the middle aisle as if nothing was amiss. The King's face was flushing a deeper red by the second, his hands fisting as he pushed himself to his feet, and his robes were trembling, making the vibrant red and gold glimmer in the lights. At the throne beside him, she noticed Morrigan's lips just barely quirk up where she reclined back with her chin in her palm, and she straightened to watch them. As their group reached the bottom of the dias, the King lost his cool. His eyes flashed golden and red, flickering orange in the middle, and she thought of fire as it glowed out of his face while he curled his lip and bellowed. In it she head the crackling roar of a fire, felt the heat sweeping down to reach them.

" _WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS_?!"

Once again, silence fell around them, and she had to resist looking around. Almost half of the swagger she'd had moments before fell away as she halfway seemed to relax, and Tristan's arm flexed under her hand. His face though, betrayed his emotions. His eyebrow lifted, eyes cool and calm, hard as diamonds, but flickering with the fury behind them as he met Aurii's scowl.

"I've come to tell you what has been going on behind your back, Father."

Aurii's fists shook, mottled white as he straightened to his full height, although it wasn't needed since he was at the top of the steps. She thought he might be trying to get himself under control, but she also noted that it didn't seem to be working. 

"And what exactly is it that so entitles you to completely disrupt my court in such a _SHOW OF DISRESPECT_?!?" 

He voice rose again to a bellow, and like a wave from the dias back the other Seelie whispered furious and went silent just as fast. They didn't wish to become the focus of the King's anger. She realized with a start that she still had her magic open. Music was a low din in the background, thrumming with a hundred different notes, one for each of the present Sidhe. The Kings was a simmering tune that seemed forced, charged, and somehow, weak. She stared at him curiously. Shouldn't the King be the most powerful? Or at least nearly the top of the food chain. Then she glanced at the Queen who was watching them, sharp eyes curious and probing. Her music was stronger, sounding like the creeping of fog across a summer morning. It floated lazily around her, barely there, pushed down, she thought, but not as weak as Auriis. What was her power? She'd thought it was something with summertime, about growing things-

"I believe the only show of disrespect was from the traitor we have amongst us. The very person you banished out of this court just tried to kill my Captain of the guard, and my consort."

Aurora blinked and looked over at Tristan, wondering exactly how this was suppose to go down. The king didn't seem like he was going to be particularly inclined to listen. As Aurii stared at Tristan, her attention was caught again by another sound. This one, she realized, had been there the entire time but she had been distracted. This time she heard it clearly, whispering along through the room. It was darker, a low melodic thrum of music that purred through the shadows of the gilt edged courtroom. It made her think of the dark of autumn, bare trees, the hint of cool air, that scent in the air that she knew as well as anything. It was her favorite time of year besides the bright colors and heat of spring. It almost literally called to her, and she wanted to turn and find out what it was, where it came from. It was powerful, although barely noticeable, but she could hear it clearly. Just as she started to turn, to glance back at the courtroom, she stopped. 

She'd missed whatever the King had said, somehow, but Tristan's words caught her attention like a bucket of cold ice.

"You can see he was wounded in the short fight by trickery. My consort here is the one who fought back at Rosalyn as she tried to take both their lives, and killed her."

The roar of noise when they had walked in was _nothing_ compared to what erupted then. The Kings bellow was drowned out amidst the yelling of the other Seelie. But she would not cower damnit. The queen looked surprised, and then strangely amused, the only quiet one in the throne room. Aurora started to bristle.

Fire erupted around the kings hands as he clapped them together, sending a scalding wave of heat over the room behind the boom of sound. The others fell silent, slowly, all turning at the kings thunderous expression.

"I do not care why it has happened, but I will not tolerate an outsider killing one of my people! _GUARDS_!"

This, she thought, was when shit got real. Mainly because, up to this point, she had been fine with letting Tristan go ahead and talk and do his thing. 

At his command, the kings own guard looked torn. They instantly picked up and drew their swords, turning towards her and Tristan, but they came within a few feet and stopped. They looked like they didn't want to try, and kept looking between the King and the Prince. It was like they expected it to be called off any minute, like this had happened before, but that they didn't want to make a move. Stratos slowly drew his sword, twirled it in his hand with a maniacal grin, and stepped between Tristan and the group of guards. Wraith did the same on her side, and she stared, stunned. She heard Sine move behind them, and realized he had put his back to them. She heard all of their music get louder, coiled and ready, and then it sounded like Sine's had almost died. Did it always do that? She would have turned, checked on him, but the king decided he was pissed off.

" ** _WHAT ARE YOU WAITING ON? I GAVE YOU AN ORDER! I WILL NOT HAVE AN OUTSIDER KILL ONE OF OUR OWN OVER A SIMPLE DISAGREEMENT AND GET AWAY WITH IT_** -"

" _EXCUSE ME? A SIMPLE FUCKING DISAGREEMENT_?!"

 _That was **IT**!!_ Aurora dropped her hold on Tristan and stepped forward, stomping her foot on the first step of the dias. Tristan crossed his arms and flat out grinned, but she was beyond the amusement at the moment, and the guards had all went still, watching with surprise. She was pissed of now. 

Aurii looked stunned, staring at her, and she was snarling.

" _IT WAS NOT_ a simple fucking disagreement! She was _TRYING TO KILL STRATOS_! She followed us out into the woods during one of my magic lessons and jumped us! She smashed a vial of Mortifero poison on Stratos, nearly enough to eat his heart out since she blasted it into his chest, and attacked us! So I fought back! And you know what else? I surprised that bitch by finding my own damned magic, for fucking sure this time! So yeah, I killed her, I turned her own dagger on her and stabbed her in the heart because she was going to come back here after Tristan, and for _SOME STRANGE REASON_ I didn't trust her not to hurt him!"

The silence in the court was intense, not even the whisper of clothing as they shifted could be heard. But she could still hear the music from them, even though most of it sounded muted now, like they were all holding their breath. Then the king shook once, and those starburst eyes blazed as his lip curled.

" **YOU INSOLENT** -"

" _Aurii_."

She had thought it quiet a moment before, but now it seemed as if a black hole had sucked everything away. No one moved, no one breathed, but her. Shoes whispered across the floor with the slither of silk skirts as the Queen walked over. Her white blond hair lay perfectly around her head, her dress a soft cream color that flowed around her, and her gold jewelry winked in the light on her arms and hands. It made Aurora reach up and touch the silver armband on her left arm that Tristan had put there her first day here, that she had nearly forgotten about, since she saw one remarkably like it on the Queen's arm, but gold. Then the Queen was reaching for her husband, who instantly turned and caught her hands, body loosening at her touch, his expression gentling.

"Yes my Queen?"

She gave him a warm smile, patting his hands that curled round one of hers, nearly swallowing it whole, and then turned to Aurora. Instead of shrinking back, like she kind of wanted to, she stood straight, held the gaze of the queen, her own green eyes meeting the steady, seemingly amused, gaze of pink, blue, and yellow. 

"She defended the captain of our guard, one of our most trusted men, and our son. You will not punish her for such a thing."

The king gaped, stammered, and she cut her eyes back at him. He snapped his jaw shut, then turned to Aurora with a thunderous scowl. But the Queen continued talking.

"We all felt the death of one of our own, so I do believe you, but how exactly did you manage to kill her?"

The king twitched, as if having not thought of the question, and the court erupted in murmurs and speculation, hushed furious whispers. She halfway turned to glance at Tristan, who motioned her to go ahead. So she shrugged, turned back, and slid her hand past the panel at her hip, curled her hands around the dagger there.

"With the blade Rosalyn had. I pierced her heart with it. Here."

She pulled the blade out with a metallic ring, almost flinching. It was the first time she'd touched it with her ears open, and the music it made was like the greatest heavy metal, powerful, screaming, and constant, sharp. A gasp went up around the room, followed by the same riot of talking and shouting. The King paled, and the queen looked stunned. She wiped her face, and slowly held up a hand. The clambering died instantly, and she stepped closer to her husband, setting her hand on his chest as he wound an arm around her and tucked her under his shoulder. 

"Oh no."

Aurii squeezed the queens shoulder at her horrified whisper, and met Aurora's eyes, his expression grave.

"This is the weapon that Rosalyn had, the one she attacked Stratos with? The one that you, a human, and at the time unable to control your own magic, faced down a full grown Seelie holding?"

Aurora nodded. "Yes. Its the one she had. I took it when she dropped it, and ended it there."

He stared at her a few more moments, and she felt the heat, the scent, the edge of curling power, just before Tristan stepped up to her side. He dropped a hand on her shoulder, supporting. Then beside him, she caught more movement. Stratos stepped up, bowed, halfway, and raised up to stare at the King.

"She speaks the truth High King."

There were several moments of silence, and finally, as the Queen tilted her head to look up at him, the King shared a short look with her, then refocused his attention on Aurora.

"Then I decree that you are free of any charge or allegation. You shall be celebrated as a hero for saving the life of my Captain, and defending the Prince."

The Queen's voice was soft, but carried through the room. "For defending our son."

The Queen actually looked kind of grateful, softer eyed, while Aurii looked grudging, and still kind of pissed off under the surface. Maybe she had misjudged both of them. 

Then a voice came out, clear above the others, a smooth deep drawl that had her ears perking up in curiosity. That music she'd heard, that of autumn and fall, seemed to get louder and wind around her curiously.

"How _absolutely delicious_! I believe I made the right choice to call out to my dear brother today."

Tristan, Stratos, and Wraith all went rigid. What was wrong with them? Aurii and Morrigan's gazes lifted above their heads toward the back of the room, and she turned at Tristans urge on her shoulder. Then she was following the gazes of everyone in the room, up, and up, above the doors at the front of the room. 

"I was going to ask about you, nephew. The very point of my call was in fact, for you, to invite you and your consort for a visit. We would have a feast in three days to celebrate your finally choosing a consort. I do so hope you could attend, nephew. Even bring along your three guards there, if they wish to come along."

 _What exactly was she looking at_?

Her mouth was dry, her heart hammering in her chest, and her stomach tying itself into knots. And a strangely, insanely large smile was blooming across her face.

She _knew_ that face, knew who that was, at least in her world, and now the music made sense. 

Above the doors was a great mirror, gilt edged with beautifully intricate scrollwork, and the scrying mirror, apparently, had been open this entire time with the man watching the entire proceeding. Behind him was a black curtain, billowing with a soft wind, one she swore she could almost feel. His throne was beautiful, black, glittering obsidian. The edges curled and twisted, inlaid with silver and amber, rubies and diamonds. There were swirls and designs, of leaves and trees, full moons and old runes, skeletons and other shadowy figures. On the top corner of the throne sat a large raven, perched delicately, head cocked to the side, watching them.

Reclined back, and across, the throne, was the man who had spoken. His chin was propped on his hand, arm bent on one arm of the throne, one leg kicked up over the opposite side. Literally sprawled out, relaxed as if he didn't have a care in the world, amusement on his face. He had the moonlight skin, a pale, perfect white, almost shining over the muscles in his body. He seemed tall, long limbed, lean instead of muscled, but as he shifted, he had the strange lithe movements of a wild panther. His robes were black, like silk, decorated to match his throne, with the same runes and swirls, moons and leaves and things. The spiky crown on his head looked made of the limbs of bare trees, twisting up in a graceful display, settled crookedly as if he didn't care for its presence. His face was so familiar, high cheekbones, a strangely lush cupids bow mouth, wide up tilted eyes, and the long pitch black hair that tangled around him like wayward spiderwebs. His eyes were three rings that she could see perfectly from even here, of a bright shimmering silver, a burnished metallic copper, and a ring of dark tarnished gold. 

Tristan's voice came from her side, and despite his hand, she found herself stepping forward. The man's eyes switched from the speaking prince to her.

"You honor Me, Uncle Borrum. We would be,.. delighted to attend."

He waved a hand as he moved, again in that eerily graceful way, straightening slightly as he continued to stare at her. His eyes flickered, with interest, and amusement, and his lips lifted. She was still slowly moving forward, lips parted in awe.

"Bah, do not be so uptight Nephew, you know you may call me Boreas... Borrum is such an old form of my name, so stuffy. And worry not for the celebration, it shall be much fun! But I am pleased to hear you can attend. You simply must come ahead, one day hence, so that I may have time to have your rooms prepared, and visit longer than one night..."

Tristan sounded strained, and she stopped, just past Sine, staring up at the man as he trailed off, _still watching her_.

"Of course, Uncle Boreas."

"Wonderful.."

He murmured, lifting as brow as his smile suddenly widened.

"What is the matter young human? What causes you to stare at me so?"

She shook her head, feeling as if she had come out of a daze, and finally realized she should do something. So she dipped into a slight bow, sorry she didn't curtsy, and then looked at him again.

"You are the Ash Lord."

Around her the court began whispering frantically, and she held his gaze. He didn't look surprised in the least, but his eyes warmed, pleased.

"Ahhh, you know of my... names from long ago, when our people walked among your young race as the Tuatha De... perhaps more recent lore as well."

She nodded, barely, hands still twisted in the sides of her skirt.

"It seems Belle's opinion of you was well earned. It will be a true pleasure to meet you then, _Aurora_ , daughter of the North Wind."

The same music curled around her tightly, warm and familiar, and then faded as he lifted a hand, and the face of the mirror cleared. She caught her breath and turned back at the silence around her, looking at her friends. Tristan, Stratos, Wraith, and Sine looked stunned. The King, suspicious, the Queen, delighted.

 

 

There had not been much to say after that. The king had excused them to finish the days 'work', and Tristan had ushered them out. They all returned to his rooms, and hers, in silence, and once inside, all of them, they each turned to her. 

"How do you know of my Uncle, the King of the Unseelie Court?"

She blinked wide eyes at him, having not made the connection yet. Even though it had been kinda obvious, duh. Holy shit _the King of the UnSeelie court_.

  
"Well, he is well known where I come from. Celebrated as the Ash Lord, the North wind, he who is over fall, the time between summer and winter when the world sleeps for the coming cold, the harvest, etcetera... its a pagan holiday thing, really old, celtic..."

She lifted a shoulder, and Stratos spoke up then, after Tristan.

"Why did he call you daughter of the north wind?"

She shrugged then, chewing her bottom lip.  
"I don't know that. I mean, I was closest to the 'northern element' so to say, of earth. I've always had more of a connection with fall and that time of year, Samhain is basically my favorite holiday.. I mean, maybe there's some truth to those choices and he could sense it?"

This time Wraith spoke up. 

"Why did you walk toward him? You seemed like the small prey mesmerized by the snake."

She flushed crimson and cleared her throat. "I was surprised. He looked so familiar, like what I had always pictured him to be, kind of like some of his depictions in my world, and I just couldn't believe it... I still can't, it seems crazy, although... I suppose everything kind of is at this point. I just felt like I knew him."

The guards shared a look, and Tristan looked worried. 

"And we have agreed to walk into his own courtroom and stay a few days. This may not end well."

She blinked at him as the others all looked just as serious.

They were going to visit the King of the UnSeelie Sidhe. What could go wrong? 

She snorted at herself. It was then she remembered something.

"Hey, wait. Didn't he say that Belle's opinion of me was well earned? Why is Belle talking to _him_ about _me_?"

They all looked at her in confusion. She sighed irritably.

"My " _maid_ " that helps me and walks Chopper and everything? With the Cat eyes? She was here earlier!"

Just then the far door opened to Chopper barreling through, and an out of breath Belle as she dropped the leash and let him run around, leaning back against the door as she closed it.

"Belle."

The maid's head snapped up, and she went wide eyed, immediately trying to curtsy and looking down. Aurora walked over, and motioned at her.

"Don't start the looking down stuff again. I have a question though."

The maid clasped her hands in front of her, finally, tentatively raising her gaze to look at Aurora, with quick furtive glances at the others. 

"Yes my lady?"

"What have you been telling the King of the Unseelie about me? And _why_?"

Her eyes went impossibly wide as she paled.

"I-I-I- w-well, nothing b-bad my l-lady..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fall is almost here and is tooooooootally my favorite time of year!! *sighs happily*  
> Anyway... yeah, theres going to be a lot of lore and random tie ins to things like that and some pagan beliefs in the story. Some exaggerated for the story but... yeah...
> 
> Also, I seem to have a thing for cliffhangers. I'M SORRY


	9. If you want to fight...

Belle looked as if she were going to hyperventilate, obviously fearing terrible repercussions. Aurora reached out and took her hand, offering her a smile as she turned and pulled her along.

"Its okay Belle, I just want to know what happened, okay?"

She pulled her over to the cream colored couch that sat along one wall, perching on the edge and gesturing for the maid to sit as well. When she finally lowered herself down, pressing her knees together, sitting ramrod straight, and wringing her hands in her lap, Aurora just sighed.

"Belle."

The maid's head snapped around from where she'd been staring at the three guards to look at her. The slit of her eyes was almost lost to the metallic yellow, flickering with small bits of her power. She was so nervous she was losing it.

"Please tell me about the conversations with Boreas. From the beginning."

Belle swallowed, fidgeted, then took a deep breath and started in a really long rush, running it together to the point Aurora literally couldn't understand her. She was going so fast she could barely make out any of the words. But Aurora caught one sentence. 'When you told me it was okay to talk to the king-'

Aurora threw up both hands with a shriek to rival a banshee. Belle jerked back as if she had tried to slap her, or was about to.

"Woah woah woah! Hang on, run that last part by me again. Did you just say when _I_ told you to talk to the King?!?!"

Belle looked at her with wide terrified eyes and nodded. "Y-yes the other night, when I was telling you about my sister and then that the king had asked to see me-"

Aurora jerked to her feet and waved both arms, effectively quieting the maid, who snapped her jaws shut. She paced back and forth in a three foot line for several seconds while she pulled at her hair, ready to have a complete meltdown. Finally she took a deep, long breath, and turned back to Belle.

"Okay, you visit your sister, also a maid, every couple of days, right?"

Belle nodded gingerly. 

"So I'm assuming something you said gave this away, and I didn't understand it before, but she's not just a maid somewhere else, she's a maid at the UnSeelie court, yeah?"

"Yes my lady, she took much more after our father, a brownie. She-"

Aurora waved her hand. "Yeah yeah, the looks. Its cool I get it. Okay. So, start with... the last... two visits, _before_ getting the summons, and tell me from there. Let's try that."

Belle nodded, still seeming as if she would run at any moment.

"I simply... went to see my sister like I always have. I visit her at the UnSeelie court, because she cannot come here as easily, it would be... bad."

Aurora's eyes narrowed, turning over her shoulder to send a dark scowl at the guards, who each threw up their hands and shook their heads as if saying they weren't doing it. She looked back as Belle continued, and barely heard the soft footfalls coming up behind her. She tilted her head, glancing at Tristan as he stopped just behind her at her side, dropping a hand onto her shoulder. When he seemed to just be listening, she glanced back and motioned for the maid to continue.

"Well.. we... we always talk about what few things there are that has happened, here and there... so I told her of my new mistress, since you had been in the courts I thought it would be alright..."

She looked at Aurora with pleading eyes and she waved it off.

"Its fine Belle, I don't care if you talk about me. I'm obviously not a secret or anything. That's not exactly what we're concerned about. Just continue, please."

"Yes my lady... well, I suppose I talk about you very much, since you are the newest thing really, such an oddity to have a human here... but it is all praise I promise you my lady!"

Aurora pinched the bridge of her nose with a deep sigh.

"Okay Belle, its _fiiiine_.. what el- wait. What is that?"

She turned to see the others frowning at her in confusion, and she pressed her fingertips to her temples.

"Never mind, I still .... uhm. I've still got my ears on, let me-"

Tristan's horrified expression caught her attention and she gritted her teeth, ready to bang her head against the wall. "Okay, never mind. That was a... uhm... a saying from back home. What I meant is that I'm still halfway listening to the magic, I didn't realize I hadn't turned it off again-"

"You can ' _turn it off_ '?!"

Stratos looked stunned and she nodded, listening as the music that had caught her attention got louder. It sounded so familiar. 

"I guess its because where I come from its not the usual state I'm in, so its like I normally tune it out or something I don't know. We'll talk to - _Iridius_!"

"What?"

Tristan watched her with confusion as she suddenly hurried towards the door to the hall.

"I think its him! That's why it sounds familiar I think he's back hang on lemme see -"

The guards all started talking at once, rushing over to stop her, but she flung open the door and stepped into the hallway. Just as she frowned and looked one way, then the other, a flicker of movement caught her attention. She jerked back to see someone round the corner a little farther down, walking with short purposeful strides, white robes billowing out about him. She could hear it clearly now, the musical clatter of crystals, a humming vibration like a forest of them that were in tune with everything around them. She went still as he grew closer, her arm she had raised to wave slowly falling. She stepped forward, watching him with large rounded eyes, and when he stopped in front of her his face betrayed his tiredness. She stared at him though, and after just a moment of scrutinizing her his whole expression changed. It was at once proud, surprised, and then simply shocked.

"You have truly found your magic..."

She nodded, tentatively reaching out a hand towards his chest as if she would touch him. As she did the pitch she heard changed, started to match hers, like the frequency wavering, before it settled and gave off a constant chirpy hum. Her jaw dropped, and she jerked her gaze up to his shocked one, and noticed that his eyes suddenly shut down. His lips thinned, and he nodded.

"We have much to discuss later, and I will explain to the best of my abilities then. For now, it would seem we have more important matters of which to speak. Shall we?"

He motioned back inside at the others, who clustered in the doorway, looking at her oddly. She flushed and darted back inside, and they closed the door again. She still wanted to bang her head against the wall. What if that had been rude? She'd just done it without thinking, that could have been some personal thing. But the others just looked at her like she was crazy, not that she'd really done something wrong. So maybe they were just use to the stuff she was still seeing as new. Maybe all Iridius had meant was about her power coming online, and that maybe he controlled magic like she did. That would make sense right?

"Aurora."

She jerked at her name, realizing she's been lost in her thoughts longer than she thought as she turned to see Tristan staring at her oddly. She cleared her throat, and gave him a strained smile as he gestured her back over. Belle had yet to move an inch.

"Come. We have... caught Iridius up with all that has happened. Now, can we continue the explanation from.. Belle?"

They all turned, and she went and plopped down by the maid, sighing tiredly. 

"Okay Belle, he's right. Please, continue."

"Y-yes my lady, of course.. well, the next visit my sister told me she had gossiped about you some to some of the other maids, and many of them were very curious. I had always been careful not to speak of anything that might be bad to be repeated, so they were simply curious about the human.. so.. then I was given a letter by one of the messengers as I was leaving, I simply kept it and continued on because I had stayed talking much longer than I had meant to. When I returned to my quarters, I opened it to find a small message with the King's insignia that he wished for me to come speak to him in his chambers the following night.."

She fidgeted, swallowed, and still looked nervous. Aurora patted her hand reassuringly.

"Okay, and then?"

"T-that was one day prior... the morning that I was very worried and you spoke to me until I calmed down and told me that I could talk to you of problems I had."

Aurora nodded, now remembering the conversation.

"Yes.."

"That was when I told you I was scared because I had been ordered by the King to come to his chambers that night because he wished to speak with me. And you told me not to worry, to go. And speak to him. But you told me that I should not be scared because I had not done anything wrong and that if he tried to force me to do something I did not wish to do that I should leave and come to you immediately and that you would take care of it."

Aurora froze, remembering vividly the rest of the conversation about how people could say 'no' and that meant 'NO' where she was from and she could kick some ass if someone tried to ignore her saying 'no' to something. She'd kind of meant if he hit on her and she didn't want it since he was with the freaking Queen, but uhm... She glanced back to see every single one of the five men looking at her with raised eyebrows and amused expressions, and she ducked her head sheepishly.

Then it hit her. She turned back to Belle with a gasp.

" _SO WAIT_! You were talking about the _UNSEELIE KING_? And you told him all of _THAT_?"

Belle nodded, wide eyed. Aurora leaned over and thunked her head against the wall.

"Why-" thud. "-didn't-" thud "-you-" thud "-say-" thud "- _THAT_!"

Belle blinked at her curiously while she continued to thump her head against the wall, teeth gritted, and she gasped when she was suddenly moving. Tristan hauled her up and held her bridal style, staring stonily at her. She flailed and hissed at him.

"Put me down Tristan!"

"Only if you stop trying to harm yourself."

"I'm **NOT** -" she groaned and stopped, glaring at him. "Fine okay whatever yeah just _put me down_!"

He stared at her another moment before putting her feet on the ground and she smoothed her hands over her skirt, huffing at him and ignoring the amused grins on the guards faces as she plopped back down into the seat. She turned to Belle, who also looked as if she were trying not to laugh, and stared at her a moment.

"Okay. So the UnSeelie King, Boreas, summons you. And you go, right?"

Belle nodded. 

"Okay, fast forward to that, tell us what happened then."

The maid took a deep breath, and Aurora hoped this wasn't going to be one of those stories that ended up with an "off with her head!" 

Her own anyway.

 

 

An hour later they sent Belle on to her duties for the remainder of the afternoon. Aurora made sure to tell her that if anyone wanted to bitch about it to tell them who she'd been caught up with and if they kept giving her shit to come get her and or Tristan.

The guards thought it funny, Tristan was outright laughing, and even Iridius was smiling. 

But as soon as the door closed behind the maid, Aurora whirled on her 'mentor'. 

"Alright, what exactly happened to you? Were you hurt or anything?"

His eyes widened fractionally, and she thought it was like changing the focus on a kaleidoscope with all the colors in his eyes shifting.

"No young one, I am fine. It was but a simple misdirection to lead me astray and leave the two of you alone. There was no hurt child, and I was fortunate enough to be only halfway there when I ran into a member of their clan on the trails. When I inquired after the child, we realized I had been sent a false message, although I merely assumed I had misinterpreted the clan name, or something of the like. I never suspected foul play..."

His lips thinned and he looked down at his hands, clenching one fist tightly. He was pretty pissed about it, and she didn't blame him really. 

"So much has happened in such a short while. And your powers... you have finally found them."

He stared at her a moment, lips twitching into a relieved smile. She ducked her head, feeling her cheeks heating, and shuffled her feet. 

"Yeah I guess so.. but hey, why didn't you ever tell me about the music?"

Iridius had been looking at Tristan, and he snapped his gaze back to her, shooting to his feet with a stunned look on his face.

" _What did you say_?"

She frowned, uneasiness crawling down her spine and she crossed her arms defensively.

"T-the music... like, how to make the magic work.. with the sounds, the way... ah hell I don't know, the music!"

She made a frustrated gesture, huffing as she glared at him. Tristan said something then, before Iridius could form any kind of reply.

"She mimicked my own magic walking into the courtroom earlier. It was... almost perfect."

Iridius stared from the prince, whose shoulders were tight, his eyes conveying a message to the scholar that she was left out of, and her temper simmered.

"If there's something wrong with the way I FINALLY got the hang of this magic shit then you need to tell me!"

Iridius held up his hands placatingly, then shook his head as he moved towards her, his gaze intent.

"No, nothing is wrong... before I try to explain, I wish to make sure I am right about this. I had expected, from the things we had spoken of before, but I was not sure... it is a rare power, not a bad power. That is all. Please, could you demonstrate for me?"

Her shoulders relaxed minutely as she listened, and finally sniffed at him but grudgingly nodded.

"Fine... sure. What do you need me to do?"

He turned and motioned at the guards. "Come here please Wraith."

They each flinched, and Stratos's jaw dropped. " _Iridius you cannot_ -"

"Still your tongue Stratos. Wraith, if you would."

Stratos went rigid, snapping his jaw shut, and she knew he was pissed off now, but he seemed worried. Why would he be worried? She'd done this earlier with Tristan. Surely the prince was more powerful than Wraith? What was he scared of? 

Wraith shared a look with Tristan, who seemed hesitant, but gave the guard a nod. The guard squared his shoulders and stepped up beside Iridius, who turned and gestured towards her. She frowned at them.

"What's going on?"

Iridius guided the obviously hesitant guard closer and turned to her.

"I want him to call his power, do something simple, and for you to.. do what you do with yours. Mimic it, as you did Tristans earlier. Can you do that?"

She looked at Wraith, who stood barely a foot away from her. He seemed edgy, like a nervous horse, feet shifting and hands moving restlessly. He swung his head to look at Iridius when he spoke, and then back to her, making the long fall of his hair slide over his shoulders, tangle in pitch black strands around the straps of his uniform. His gaze flicked over her, that metallic yellow flickering with his obvious agitation with the situation, the pupils of his eyes dilating with nervousness.

See, now she was worried. She frowned at him, then looked at Iridius.

"Why is everyone so nervous about this? I'm not doing anything to Wraith without his full consent either."

Iridius blinked at her in surprise, then glared at the others before he looked back at her with a deep sigh.

"Because we have had plenty of those over the years who have simply misinterpreted their powers at some point, and some who have simply tried to pass off their major powers as something they were not. I do not think you are... trying to mislead anyone, but I must ascertain whether your power is what I think it is, so that I know how best to train you, and where to start. If it is the... music, as you call it, then there are certain things that must be taught earlier than others, like caution and control, because it is a... very volatile, and powerful, magic to wield."

In the silence she stared at each of them in turn, and they all looked serious.

"So... that's why everyone's nervous? Not that I mind, but why Wraith? You all seem against the idea..."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Because some powers can easily be copied, if you have even a small talent at them. Yours should be nature, animals, healing. Things of that particular nature. Wraith's magic is different... you would not be able to copy it at all, if it is not the true nature of yours. Wraiths powers are dark, and very powerful. In fact, I want to see if you can call his magic from him-"

" _What_?!"

" _Iridius you cannot mean this_ -"

" _She cannot do this_ -"

" _She could_ -"

" **ENOUGH!!** "

Everyone snapped their jaws shut at the scholars roar, and he pierced each of them with a dark scowl. She didn't know what he had meant, but every one of them had started protesting instantly. He huffed, and she could hear the hum coming from him, making her eyebrows raise.

"I would think the lot of you would trust me to know magic by know. I have never allowed a student of mine to come to harm while practicing, especially at a request from me."

They each dropped their gazes, ashamed, and Iridius looked to her. His voice gentled slightly as he took a deep breath.

"I do not know if I can explain this well.... but I wish for you to listen to him, call his magic to you, like you would an animal. Then mimic it. It is not a hard thing to do, but if you cannot then it will explain your powers better. To be able to do such a thing is rare, very, very rare. They protest because they fear you cannot do it, and do not wish you to harm yourself trying."

"How would that harm me?"

He seemed hesitant to answer, and she narrowed her eyes. "I said harm yourself. Again, Wraiths powers are dark, if you perhaps became frightened, you could lash out or even panic. As I mentioned, if you can call his, then you can call anyone's, and such a power can become overwhelming. But we will all be here, and we will not allow any harm to come to you."

She stared at him a moment, then turned her gaze back to Wraith. His gaze was still nervous, and she watched the flicker of the metallic yellow of his eyes. She was reminded of the eyes in the forests that peer out at night, just like the first time she'd seen him. The yellow was surrounded by another band of pitch black, and it made her wonder what else his eyes did. All the Sidhe had tri-colored eyes, and the few whose weren't instantly visible was something that changed when their powers rose. Maybe the inside was another ring of black and she just couldn't tell because it seemed like part of his pupil? She mentally shook herself and spoke to him.

"Wraith, are you okay with this?"

He blinked in surprise, and glanced at Iridius then back. "Well, Iridius-"

She shook her head. "I'm not doing this, or trying this, without it being okay with _you_. It's _your_ magic I'm playing with here."

He stared at her in quiet shock, then his lip lifted just slightly in one corner, and he dipped his head in a nod.

"Of course my lady... I trust you."

It was her turn to be surprised, and she flushed a little, giving him back a small smile.

"Thank you Wraith.. then I guess we should get started then... do we need to hold hands or make a salt circle or anything first?"

She looked at Iridius who frowned a moment before he realized she was teasing, and cut his eyes at her. She grinned as he shook his head, but then Tristan stepped up.

"Wait, perhaps we should make a circle of power to contain it?"

They all turned to him, and she frowned questioningly. Really? Iridius looked at her and Wraith a moment, then back to the prince and sighed.

"Alright, will it help the lot of you feel better?"

Every one of them nodded but her. She just watched curiously as Iridius waved the go ahead at them. Stratos, Tristan, Sine, and Iridius stepped around them, five feet or so back, in a loose circle, and held up their hands, palms pointed towards her and Wraith in the center. 

"This will merely keep in the fluctuations of power, nothing else."

"Yes, I would rather not advertise her power if this works, or send the entire guard into a 'freakout' as she says."

She stuck her tongue out at Stratos, who grinned, and the others rumbled a laugh. Then Iridius dipped his head, and they all closed their eyes. She could hear each of their powers humming, just a soft sound, and then a small beam of light started around their hands. It faded out, spreading around the circle, all of them merging in a thin glowing wall, dropping to the floor and arcing up over their heads. It lit up where it brushed the floor, and she watched the top almost sizzle as it sealed. As soon as the translucent wall was finished the glow brightened once with a pulse and faded, except for the thin line on the ground surrounding them, and she could barely see the shimmer where their palms pressed against it.

"That's pretty cool..."

They halfway smiled at her, and then Iridius shook his head once, settling the magic, she thought for some reason, and sent her a serious look. 

"Please begin Aurora."

She felt her stomach flutter, and looked at Wraith, facing him in this circle of power, and watched his eyes.

"You ready?"

He swallowed hard enough that his throat bobbed, and she wondered again, however briefly, if they weren't telling her everything. This kind of seemed like overkill when she'd done this earlier, but then, they had smiled and thought she couldn't do it. But then Tristan had pushed her a little, they'd shoved back and forth, playfully, too. So why all this? Yeah, she was a little worried now. Finally Wraith nodded once, and she took in a slow deep breath. 

She could do this. She'd done it already, just not to Wraith. Well, she hadn't called power before but... oh well. Her hands hung loose at her sides as she breathed slowly, keeping herself calm, and finally pulled up her own power. It was more like opening the door, instead of cracking a window. Like she was always open to the music, able to could ignore it, but she wanted no barriers, she wanted to hear it, that was the point of this.

She could feel her own power around her, a soft, quiet, mildly nervous hum. She thought of making it like a tendril, moving it forward towards Wraith since she couldn't hear his music. Maybe he was suppressing it, since she was suppose to be calling it. Yeah. She closed her eyes to concentrate, and realized she couldn't hear anything past the circle. 

Cool.

She moved carefully towards him, only the magic around her, and finally realized it was working. She could hear the faintest traces of something. She frowned and reached farther toward the elusive strand, and it sounded so familiar. Where had she heard something like this before? She copied it just a little, felt the glimmer of a response, like it was alive and she'd caught its attention. A shiver ran down her back, and she felt like swaying, like moving. Then in the darkness of her closed eyes, she saw something, a flickering movement, a wispy curl of smoke that seemed to undulate with the sound. She almost smiled, then she whispered to the faint thing, coaxing it closer, and it flared brighter. She could hear the music now, like several flutes, low and sinuous, echoing into the dark, and what she thought of was snake charmers. She felt the pitch of her magic changing, tuning to what she was hearing, coaxing it ever closer, hearing other strands of music join in, like the brush of bells on a tambourine, the beating of a drum following along.

She was vaguely aware of herself, of her bare feet moving, sliding across the floor as she stepped towards the guard. Of her hands raising, twisting in intricate patterns, weaving through the air around her, and she began to circle the source of the music in a slow movement, back rolling with her, hips undulating, mimicking the flare of the smoke she could see. Even if she didn't do that type of dancing much anymore, she remembered the lessons, they came back like the lyrics of a favorite old song. The smoke coiled thicker, turned with her, and she mimicked how it moved, heard the music getting stronger, and she practically cooed at it, calling it.

She realized as it swelled, becoming larger than her, pulsing with a wave of cool energy, that it wasn't all that was there. The dark around her was thicker than it should be, and she could hear the sounds of things moving, padding back and forth, slithering just out of sight. Things that were not animal or human.  
So she called to them too. Eyes snapped open in the darkness, flickering with reflections of the light within the smoke behind her, and they focused on her.  
Her own eyes flew open at a low sound like a groan, and she was back in front of Wraith. She looked up at him, at those exact same eyes, saw the tremors running beneath his skin, how he seemed to grind his teeth to stay still, sweat beading on his skin. She frowned, because he was fighting her. He wasn't suppose to fight her, he was suppose to let go, to respond, and she could suddenly feel the bands encircling the dancing smoke, see them holding it back. She didn't want it held back, she wanted it free.

She reached out her hand, and he focused his hazy gaze on her. His eyes went wide, mouth opening to protest, and she heard other voices shouting something, sounding far off, but she ignored them. She flattened her hand over his heart, palm against his skin, felt his grab her wrist with both hands, but she narrowed her eyes, wrapped that music around herself with the barest thought and called it. / _Come._ /

Wraith's back bowed, eyes glowing brightly as he opened his mouth on a strangled gasp and threw back his head. The bonds around his power rippled, thinned as the smoke simmered and stretched, and then they gave. The fog blew out and covered her, curled around her in a shower of sparks and electricity, tingling cold that swept over her skin, but all she did was smile. The music was loud in her ears, and she could see shapes, ghostly and strange, bent and bowed, long and thin, boney and inhuman. They were flickers, like ghosts, translucent in the shadows of the fog, but they were a part of it. The faces were ghastly, like things from a horror movie, pale and drawn, deep dark holes for eyes, reaching hands.

She wasn't afraid, she'd called them and they came.

Her eyes were open. Wraith fell to his knees, breath heaving in his lungs, his too wide eyes focused on her, the yellow the only splash of color in the world as he looked up at her. His breath plumed in the air like crystals of ice, and she cupped his face with her hands, knew suddenly what to do. The music continued, and she pushed it back to him, gave him the reigns over it, like a flickering rope of flames in his hands, connecting him to the things circling in the dark around them. His hands tightened into fists, and the things stilled, straightened, and waited for a command. He looked around with shock, and after a moment, a whispered encouragement from her, he tugged. 

It was like he had closed the lid of pandora's box. Everything swirled like a sudden tornado and sucked back in, _to him_. His hands relaxed and his breath spilled out in one last sparkling puff of ice, and then her own magic faded back, she came back to herself with a shake of her head.

What the hell had just happened? 

Then Wraith, still on his knees in front of her, wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face against her stomach, his great body shuddering as he fought to breathe. She instantly put her hands in his hair, soothing him, pitching her voice low and murmuring something. She wasn't even sure what. She was looking around at the others who stood with eyes the size of saucers, and slowly dropped the circle. Her voice trembled, sounding raspy to her own ears as she spoke to Iridius.

"Wh-what just happned? What did I do? Did I hurt him?"

The silence was loud as they stared, before the scholar answered.

"You called his magic, and you unlocked his full power at the same time."

" _I what?!_ "

She looked down, tightening her hand protectively in the guards hair, and looked back.

"I-is that bad? Will he be okay?"

"Wraith will be fine..."

"Then whats wrong? What did I do?"

They all shared looks, wide eyed, half fearful, half awed stares, and she shook.

"Tell me!! What is so wrong with what I did?"

Tristan answered her then. "There is no sidhe alive this day who can unlock another's deepest powers."

She stared at him, in defiance, not believing. "B-but Iridius-"

The scholar spoke gently, interupting her.

"I awaken powers in children, and help guide, I teach. Even I cannot do that."

She looked around at all of them, and then down at Wraith. 

" _What do I do?_ "

"That, child, I do not have an answer for..." 

It was like they didn't know what to say, and again the silence fell like a smothering blanket. They all turned at Sine's voice, since he'd been quiet so far.

"The question I believe we needs ask is... who do we tell?"

The silence that met that answer was thick, horrified. Finally they turned as the prince cleared his throat and slowly speared each of them with a serious glare.

"No one. Not even my father."

She stared at Tristan in surprise, then glanced down at Wraith again as he shuddered. 

Well, hell.

 

 

Fifteen minutes later, while still talking, there was a knock on the door. She had, finally, with some help, moved over to the big couch against the wall. Wraith was still wrapped tightly around her waist, on his knees on the ground, face buried against her side. Stratos went to the door as she continued to pet the other guards hair, one hand on his back. Stratos spoke quickly to the person at the door and then returned, grim faced.

"The King wants to see us, prince."

Before everyone could freak out, Tristan held up his hand.

"It is alright. I knew earlier he would want to speak with me after the courts were over. He could not have felt the power fluctuation through our protective circle."

They all sighed, and Iridius turned back to Aurora. 

"I will go with them. You should take some time to rest, you have had quite the exciting day."

She sighed heavily, lifting a shoulder. She wasn't tired though, oddly energized in fact.

"As I was saying though, Wraith will calm soon enough. He has.. never faced his powers in such a way. It was certainly frightening enough for that alone, but it has also changed the level of his power."

She cocked her head to the side, glancing at him then Wraith.

"What do you mean?"

"Picture it like comparing the flame of a match to a roaring inferno, such as a forest fire."

Her jaw fell, and he nodded solemnly.

"Now you see. He clings to you for you did not flinch away from them, and you controlled them first. You are his rock right now, do not fail him."

She blinked in surprise, mouth parting, and stared at him. Was he crazy? She couldn't even be her OWN rock!

"But I-"

Wraith moved, just barely, enough that had he not been placed so tightly against her for so long she wouldn't have felt it at all, but she did. He'd went stiffer, as if she was about to order him away, or shun him. She wasn't doing that to someone, she'd been there. It hurt. So she took in a deep breath and smoothed her hand to the back of his neck, massaging her fingers in small circles across the muscles there, and she otherwise drew no attention to him. He almost melted against her, breath in hot puffs even through the materiel of her dress, and at any other time her mind would have been rolling happily in the gutter but... she just felt protective of him. It was her fault.

"Leave Wraith with me, and the lot of you can go see the King. I doubt it, but if he asks about me, tell him my mortal body easily tires or some shit and that I'm napping. I dunno. We may be here, or we may go for a walk or something. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding us later."

They all nodded, moving towards the door, but Tristan walked to her. He reached out and touched his fingers to her cheek, bending down to speak softly.

"I will be back soon flower.. I am very proud of you.. and thank you...."

She tilted her head, blinking slowly at him in curiosity. "For what?"

He shook his head and glanced down as he gave her a small smile. "I will tell you later..."

Then he turned, and looked back once as he closed the door behind him and the others. She stared at the door a moment, confused, then just shook it off. 

Whatever.

She sighed and looked down at Stratos, heart constricting. The quiet pressed in on all sides, making her edgy, restless, and despite the way Wraith had shuffled closer to her with his death grip, he wasn't calming down much. She could feel his heart still pounding. She tried to think of anything that might help him, and all she could think was the way she had always soothed her upset nieces and nephews, or little cousins when they'd been fussy or scared, and it had always worked.

Even when they were older. Much older. 

So she sighed, ready for shock or him to get up and run or tell her to shut up or something, anything at all.

But she decided to try.

She took a deep breath and softened her voice, starting a lullaby. She couldn't remember where she'd heard it, it had been too many years, but she knew it like a long familiar friend. She kept her voice gentle, soothing, lilting over the notes she'd sang a million times. For the first few seconds, he tensed, barely breathing as she continued to run her hand in circles over his back. A shudder rippled down the spine under her palm, and for the first time since she'd unlocked his magic, he seemed to be calming down. Some of that terrible tension locking his muscles up was leaking out. It was several minutes, she wasn't sure exactly, but she lost herself in repeating the song. It was surprisingly easy, when she hadn't sang a lullaby to someone in a while. He finally seemed to be almost better. But he still hadn't looked up.

Then she got an idea. 

She looked up at the light, the little spell that floated in the fixture, suspended at the ceiling. Remembering Iridius's teachings, she knew how to make one.

Everything didn't need to be as complicated as the calling of Wraith's magic. So with a few flicks of her hand she copied the small spell. She toyed with it, continuing her lullaby, until she thought she could do what she needed. Then she wove a strand around in a loop, one that sounded like a music box, weaving the notes together until they matched the lullaby's melody, and with a slight push she made it into a reality. Wraith jerked, and she trailed off with her own voice, letting the waltz like tune play. She wasn't entirely sure how she'd done it, after all, half the sidhe magic was think it, and it happens, so she was trying to do a little of their magic. If Wraith could hear it, and not just her, then it worked. 

She let it play, then reached for him, cupping his jaws with her palms and lifting gently. He raised up slightly to see her, eyes shimmering, and he looked so terrified, so wrung out. She prodded him to straighten up, which he did reluctantly, his eyes questioning, and she gave him a reassuring smile, before she snuffed the only light in the room. It plunged them into pitch black darkness, and he went rigid, a low terrified sound scraping out of his throat. He lunged at her, halfway pulling her off the couch to hide his face against her again, and she shushed him, putting her arms around him, and weaving her fingers. Lights began to glimmer in the darkness, moving to the soft music, small orbs that morphed into little figures. She lowered her voice to a whisper, pressing her cheek against his temple.

"Look Wraith.. its okay.. c'mon, look.."

He took in a ragged breath, his fingers pressing bruises into her back, but he moved just a fraction, enough that she could see his face, but his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. She huffed a soft laugh, touching his cheeks again, putting her knuckles under his chin.

"C'mon Wraith.... look."

He finally pried open his eyes, flinching at the dark, and noticed the colors. He whipped his head around, lips parting as he stared, and she gestured again. The figures moved, little men walking towards the women, taking each others hands, bowing, the colors pressing together. The music looped again, starting off soft and slow. The figures stepped together, and as one began to spin. Wraith let out a small gasp, leaning back from her to watch. The lights glimmered, shining in the dark as they stepped in light circles, spun around and swayed together, following a dance they knew, their moves graceful and eye catching. He moved towards them gingerly, casting a quick glance back at her, before he staggered to his feet and carefully came up to them. He stared at them in awe, moving to watch them as they spun, casting light over his features as he stared. He finally reached for them, trailing his fingers through those iridescent forms, making a small sound in his throat as they puffed around his hand like a tiny cloud and reformed without missing a beat. He actually gave a small huff of laughter, turning back to her, eyes glittering, lips curving up in a smile as she stood up. The music cut off, and the figures paused. He looked alarmed, but then just a second later it began again, soft, lilting, looping back through to the crescendo before slowing down and stopping again. But as it started he suddenly turned to her and held out his hand. She blinked at him in surprise, then fit her hand into his, tilting her head in question. 

His smile was as bright as the figures when he tugged and she yelped, staggering towards him. She laughed as he caught her, then fell quiet as he took a step, holding his hands up to mimic the little people. She stared at him in surprise, automatically following him as he swung her around. He took them in a graceful circle, feet moving with confidence in the dark, sweeping her in a wide arc and back. The music flowed brighter, and they moved along with it as his smile returned, the flinching around his eyes completely gone. When the music slowed, when they were both out of breath, the last lines of the song fading out around them, they shared a smile and made a small bow to each other. He pulled her in to him and wrapped her in a hug as the figures mimicked them this time, and she returned it as they flickered and faded away. She let the music go, the echoes lingering as Wraith's voice rumbled beside her ear.

"Thank you, Aurora..."

"No problem."

"...would it be possible.... not to tell the guys about this?"

His voice was so sheepish she started to laugh.

"Yeah, but only if you go rest up, or catch up with them. I think I'm going to go take a walk.."

They pulled apart, and he was looking up as the small spell holding the light flickered back on, from him she thought with a smile, but he was fine. He switched his gaze to her, looking torn.

"I do not know, perhaps I should not leave you alone.."

She waved her hand and smiled at him as she walked toward her bedroom door.

"It'll be fine Wraith, we got rid of the crazy chick. I'm just gonna change out of my, uh, ' battle gear' here first. The lot of you can find me if you want in a bit.."

He stared at her a moment, shifting on his feet, and finally nodded. 

"I had best go check on the Prince and the others then... just be cautious."

She gave him a cheeky grin and nodded. "Always."

He disappeared out the far door, ad she stood still a moment, staring at the floor as her smile slipped away.

She had a thousand bright memories of her husband smiling, murmuring the same thing after a quick kiss before he left for work every night. 'Be safe..' 'Always..'

She rubbed her chest where the small flare of pain settled, and turned to go change.

 

 

Now she felt like she could breathe. A simple loosely fitted long dress, with those big bell sleeves that cut off at her elbows, and a pretty dark green; it was comfortable. She left the 1911, but replaced her blade on her thigh sheath, and for fear of leaving the other blade anywhere, strapped Odin's blade around her other thigh. She was thinking in all of the excitement they'd kind of forgotten she had it.

She glanced around, and seeing she was alone in the white and gold marbled hallways, she turned left and walked slowly towards the arches she could see not far off. The suns were starting to set, lengthening the shadows and spreading a multitude of colors across the sky. She definitely wanted to be outside in the fresh air to see that. It was always pretty. But she was in no major hurry.

As she walked she glanced at the few far spread doors other left, not remembering where most of them went. She thought some were pantries for supplies and things. She turned her head and looked down the hallways on her right, some that opened into bigger rooms far down, one into a great kitchen, and a couple just other hallways that branches off into more with other rooms and alcoves.

" _What have I told you before?!_ "

She twitched, hearing a mans voice lowered to a furious hiss, and then a woman's babbled, frightened reply. A familiar one.

"F-forgive me s-sire my l-last duties k-kept me overlong I d-did not mean to b-be late-"

Her spine straightening slowly, Aurora walked forward, eyes narrowing as she neared the hallway it sounded like the voices came from. She turned into it to see the scene unfolding with more surprise than she could muster. There stood one Seelie 'noble', dressed in his damned glittery overdone finery, hands balled into fists as he berated four maids. Three were literally clustered together, clutching each other as they shook and hid their faces, and in front of them stood Belle, the one she'd heard speak, her hands clasped demurely in front of her, eyes downcast. The guy, with dark purple hair and light colored skin, nearly shouted this time.

"I did not _ASK_ for your _EXCUSES_! I told you before what would happen with such blatant disobedience!"

Aurora felt the growl starting low in her stomach, putting steel in her back as her temper flared from zero to white damn hot. The man raised his hand back, and the other three maids whimpered, one crying out, but Belle stood still, stoic, feet braced for the hit. 

" _What the **FUCK** do you think you're doin jackoff?!_ " 

The man flinched, as did every one of the women, and turned to see her. The three maids continued to huddle, but it made her moderately more calm to see Belle's stance loose some of its rigidity, as if she had some faith in her. She was stomping down the hallway before she realized it, hands balled into fists as the man swung to face her incredulously.

" _Excuse me?!_ "

"You heard me! What d'you think you're doin?"

He scoffed, waved a hand towards the women, and practically sneered at them.

"I am disciplining the servants for not following my orders if it is any of your business! Now begone with you, or you may join them."

She stared at him in shock as Belle began to shake her head, motioning for her to leave, her voice a low frantic whisper.

"Please mistress go, I do not wish you to come to harm because of me please-"

The man whirled, lip curling, and brought up his hand.

"Did I tell you to speak half blood whelp?!"

He moved to bring his hand down, as if to backhand her. Aurora never thought about what she was doing, she'd had too many years of her husband showing her all that self defense training and shit; muscle memory kicked in. She grabbed his wrist and brought it down and around, twisted his arm and shoved him towards the ground. He yelped in surprise, not even moving to fight back, too shocked apparently at a woman doing something, before his face collided into the ground. The maids gasped and Belle backed away towards them, wide eyed as if the wrath of God would soon befall her. Aurora dropped a knee on the mans back and pushed his elbow towards his shoulder blade, snarling. He jerked and yelled at her, blood smeared across the stones.

" _YOU FILTHY MISCREANT! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!_ " 

She blinked at him. Filthy Miscreant? Pfft.

"Thought you might wanna pick on someone your own size, since you get your rocks off smacking around someone you think can't do anything about it!"

" _FEMALE LET ME UP THIS INSTANT OR-_ "

She leaned down, her own lip curling. "Or what big boy?"

She barely blinked when he pushed up hard and fast enough to dislodge her. He whirled while she scrambled to try to do something, and she was shocked by the sudden pain in her face after a pop of sound. She went sprawling with a curse, reaching up to touch her cheek, tasting copper on her tongue as her ears rang. The man lumbered to his feet, panting as sparks sizzled in the air around him. She pushed up and to her feet, eyes narrowing on him. Apparently he wanted to play. She spit blood on the floor, felt her split lip pulse with fire, and glared at him, smirking. Maybe she was channeling her inner Dean Winchester.

"Got it up yet baby? Not quite huh? Wanna try again?"

She tended to forget the assholes here had more strength and speed and basically four legs up on her, unlike the assholes back at home. He launched himself toward her with an angry roar and she had enough time to take half a step back before he was on her. His hands wrapped around her throat and lifted her, then she was being slammed into the wall. The breath left her lungs in a long rush as dots swirled in her vision and he lifted her, sliding her up the wall with one hand until her feet left the floor. She wheezed and kicked at him, grabbing his arm to dislodge it while he grinned. A blur moved behind him and she saw Belle shove at him, barely rocking him as she yelled at him.

"Let the mistress go!!"

He turned without moving really, giving some slack to her bruising throat, and she sucked in a gasp of air. Then he backhanded Belle, hard enough to spin her around and send her crashing to the ground. The other maids shrieked in fear, grabbing at their companion and watching with wide fearful eyes. He turned back to her, looking triumphant, and she let go with one hand, fingers fumbling to find her pocket. His eyes narrowed as he moved right in her face, running his eyes over her as he leered, and dropped his voice to a whisper she could just hear over the pounding of her pulse in her ears.

"Do you presume because you are the Prince's chosen whore that you can order me around? I am a Noble of the Seelie Sidhe, one of the glittering throng!! I will not bow to a human! You will learn your place!"

Her fingers wrapped around the handle of the blade and she sneered at him, making him stare in surprise before narrowing his eyes. Just as she moved to tug the blade, she heard a noise, an oddly familiar one. He loosened his grip, voice suspicious. 

"What is so funny?!"

She gasped in a breath and let it out, wheezing a laugh as she let go of her blade. She didn't need to stab some asshole when she'd already really thinned her luck out today with the whole Rosalyn thing. Then a roar from her left where she'd come from shook the very walls, staggering him. He whirled, jaw falling open, bringing up his hand, but it was too slow. A purple blur hit him with the force of a train, taking him down, and setting her free. The maids were all four screaming as she hit the ground, and she half croaked half screeched at them over the din of the fighting.

" **SHUT UP!** "

They were all huddled against the far wall in a pile on the floor, staring in terror as the man kicked and fought, yelling and screaming as the bear mauled at him. It was roaring in rage, and she held her throat, coughing as she tried to get its attention.

" _STOP_!! H-hey - ack - s-stop! Come on its o-okay s-stop now c'mere-"

The bear turned, violet eyes peering at her. Its raised paw stopped in mid air and it looked back at the bloody man, who had several long gashes across his chest and face, laying on his back, shaking and too afraid to move, and it snorted at him. She noticed they were painful but not deep, no bones or organs pierced, and knew her friend had went easy on the rat bastard. Then it turned and moved to her side, licking at her face with an unhappy whine. She huffed and roughed her hands over its face, using its shoulder to stagger slowly to a stand as she heard shouts and footsteps thundering down the next hall. The maids were too terrified to move as the guards burst around the corner, weapons out. She slumped in relief then nearly fell as the bear turned and reared up on its hind legs, unsheathing its claws and roaring at them threateningly. They skidded to a halt and she heard the magic gathering to attack and she yelled at them, pushing around the bear to wave her arms. 

"Don't hurt the bear its friendly damnit - hey you be friendly! They're friends I think be nice I - uh, yeah.."

The bear went still, breath heaving behind her as it continued to rumble, but quieter. She stared at Stratos, Sine, Wraith, Iridius, and Tristan's white shocked faces as she dropped her arms.

"Uhm..hi guys."

She was nearly tackled by Tristan, and the guards edged around the bear. Iridius and Sine helped the maids up and looked over them, and Wraith and Stratos grabbed up the other guy and brought him around. She winced and pushed gently at Tristan, who backed up and stated looking over her in concern.

"What by the gods have you gotten yourself into now woman? What happened?"

She patted the bear and it set down on all flours and plopped its arse onto the ground with a huff. The guy spoke up then before she could, tugging constantly at the two guards holding him.

"Let me go this instant! I was trying to save her from this wild animal attacking her and the other women here! Unhand me!"

She turned and looked at him incredulously, and he glared at her pointedly, warningly. She brayed out a laugh despite her sore throat which was starting to swell.

"You lying son of a bitch! You think I'm scared of you? That I wont tell them!?"

"You will shut your whore mouth if you - bluu-uurgh!"

She caught a blur of movement, and he doubled over against the guards holds, coughing. She frowned and Stratos blinked wide innocent eyes at her, copying Wraith. She lifted an eyebrow at them. It didn't take but a few moments to tell them, and they left Wraith and Sine to drag him off to throw him in a holding cell or some other medieval shit, and the maids came up to her, Belle at the front.

"You.. stood up for me my lady."

She blinked at her in surprise, then looked at Tristan and the others questioningly. 

"Well, I mean of course.. yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

Belle's cat like eyes wavered, brimming with the sheen of tears as she clasped her hands together, and Aurora looked her horrified.

" _N-no no no don't cry oh shit don't do that just - oh shit do anything but that don't cry! Come on_!"

Belle sniffled, giving her a tremulous smile, and Aurora halfway relaxed.

"You saved all of us my lady. We have been left at his mercy before, he is cruel on his good days, and this was not one of them. Thank you.."

One of the other ones, dressed matching Belle but shorter, stepped up beside her hesitantly. She wrung her hands together, swallowed nervously, but finally, flinchingly, raised her eyes to meet Aurora's. She had a pale green tint to her skin, her hair a deep dark brown with leaves threaded through it, and her eyes were yellow and green, her ears long and pointed.

"N-no body s-stands up for u-us M-my Lady... I thank you..."

Completely uncomfortable, Aurora shifted from foot to foot, glancing up at Tristan, Iridius, and Stratos. They all wore amused and a little proud expression, grinning at her. Asses.

She looked back at the maid.

"What's your name?"

She flinched but straightened her shoulders, dropping her gaze.

"B-Breena, my lady."

Aurora reached out a put her hand on the maids shoulder, and one on Belle's, then eyed each of them. As she spoke, they slowly raised their eyes to her, in surprise, and something else.

"Then Breena, Belle, all of you, listen to me. My name is Aurora, not mistress or my lady, none of that shit. Where I come from its not okay to look down on people because they're different or just because you want to. It happens, of course, but its not okay. That guy was an overbearing, pompous... twat. If you have problems like that, come to me. I understand you do a job, and that everyone makes mistakes, I am the one who made Belle late, this wasn't her fault, she shouldn't have been in trouble. I understand getting in trouble for serious shit, or for not doing your job, but beating someone because they are late is not fucking okay. Do you all hear me?"

They shared quick looks of surprise, and they all, including her, looked at Tristan, who was grinning. He cocked his head and grinned, gesturing towards her.

"You heard the woman.."

They turned back to her, and she tried to smile at them. They each went to speaking at once, all going on and on, and each had to hug her before they bowed to the prince and scurried away, all but Belle. Once they were alone in the hallway Iridius stepped up to her, taking her chin in his fingers gently and tilting her head to see her throat with a fondly exasperated look. The bear leaned against her legs and she petted his head.

"We cannot leave you alone for a moment, can we child?"

She grinned, unrepentant as his hand pulsed with warmth, and she knew he was healing her swelling throat. She tried to pay attention to how he was doing it, making sure she had the how to of healing at least a little, when she replied. 

"Y'know, I haven't gotten into this much mischief since elementary school... s'not all my fault...."

He snorted at her, and she shifted her gaze to Tristan, whose smile was soft. 

"I can see I will need to leave a guard with you all the time."

"Well that douchebag started it!"

She flinched when Iridius snapped his fingers in front of her face, and she nearly crossed her eyes to see him. He halfway smiled and tapped her on the nose. 

"Pay attention. Healing is a very important lesson.."

She nodded, and dutifully fell silent to pay attention.

When Iridius was through, and she could easily breathe again, she insisted on healing Belle herself. The maid was barely hurt, Sidhe, even half breeds, were harder to hurt than a human. But when she healed Belle, the woman looked at her as if she'd hung the stars in the sky herself. It made her a bit uncomfortable, but quickly enough it was all over and everyone was going their separate ways. So she, Tristan, Wraith, Sine, and Stratos took the short walk she'd wanted. They also led the bear back outside, who rambled off happily after she healed his paw. Apparently that was why he'd been sniffing around near the archways into the palace anyway; he'd been looking for her. He trusted her. 

It stunned her to no end. 

They were in fact beset by several creatures while outside. All wanting to come near her and run away, and some wanting help. She thought, at one point, that there was another, but that it stayed hidden in the foliage. She had the distinct impression that it was more leery of the Sidhe than the other animals were for whatever reason. She even tried once to call it, but it still seemed to not want to come, so she relented. She wouldn't make it come out when it obviously didn't want to. The guys were just as amazed as she was about the animals. Well, she didn't know what to do about it, and she kind of liked it anyway.

 

 

Only an hour or so later she had pleaded being tired and returned to her room. She just kind of wanted to be alone really. Not that she didn't love the guys or anything, but a hell of a lot was going on. She wanted a bit of breathing room, she was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Plus, it was after dark, which meant it was like, sleepy time. 

Her mind was restless, turning constantly, wheeling in circles and looping, worrying over everything that had happened. She just didn't know what to do, what to think really. There was no regret for killing Rosalyn or for helping the maids. Amazement and surprise were still the biggest things she felt about finding her magic, and about unlocking Wriaths potential. She was pretty proud of herself for that one. But the other thing was she missed home. The worries still plagued her about home; if she would ever get back, if it would be there, or all dust and long gone. 

She curled up and smiled when Chopper flopped over onto her feet, and promptly fell asleep. She rolled her eyes at him, then reached over under the other pillow, rummaging around until her fingers found what she was looking for. Chopper had accidentally laid on it once, and she'd thought it would flatten, or eventually die, but it seemed to still be perfectly fine. She cupped her hand around it and settled it beside her on the bed carefully, thumbs brushing lonely caresses over the soft petals, halfway smiling as they shimmered iridescent in the moonlight. 

Aurora held the pearl rose Tristan had given her the first day here and thought of here, and home, with mixed feelings.

 

\------

 

*-*-* _Meanwhile, in the servants quarters of the Seelie Sithen_ *-*-*

 

Her hushed whispers weren't loud enough to reach outside of the small room the maid called her own, and she settled back, sitting lightly on her bed as she held the small scrying mirror up. She'd been talking a little while.

"Is this all true?"

Belle whipped her gaze back to the mirror, nodding emphatically.

"Yes... It was extraordinarily brave. She was hurt defending us, and then the bear mauled the nobleman, saving her. She did laugh..."

Delighted laughter floated through the mirror, and Belle shifted, listening intently.

"How utterly delightful... first she treats you as an equal, defends a guard to the point that she kills one of the pompous Seelie, and then she defies a 'nobleman' to save a group of maids from a beating and takes one herself... it is simply delicious. I believe I like her more and more.. I can not wait for the visit."

Belle nodded, waiting, and he continued after a moment.

"Hmm.. well. You fair alright though?"

Belle's cheeks colored, but she nodded demurely, touched by his concern. 

"Yes sire. I had a few mild bruises, but she insisted on healing them herself."

His eyes rounded in surprise, and then he laughed again, clapping his hands together.

"How gorgeously defiant! She will turn the Seelie court upon its ear,.. oh this shall be the grandest time I have had in centuries. Perhaps you should even accompany her. She will need a handmaiden, and since she knows you, she would surely be more comfortable with you than a stranger here."

Belle blinked, and nodded thoughtfully. "I had not thought of that sire, but I will inquire about it to her on the morrow..."

He inclined his head, reaching up a lazy hand to scratch the head of the raven perched on his knee, earning him a soft caw. Then the King of the UnSeelie Sidhe stretched, long and sinuous, moving against the black satin sheets of his bed and smiled at the maid with a hint of something darker.

"Then I will bid you goodbye, for I believe my entertainment for the night has arrived...."

Belle face flushed and she nodded as his tricolored eyes tracked something she couldn't see, and he smirked, making a gesture. She heard the soft giggle of a woman, and the responding low chuckle of a man.

"Of course sire, until the morrow."

He hummed in his throat and gave her a wink before he swiped his fingers across the mirror and it went blank. Belle replaced the mirror under her clothing in her cabinets and turned to get ready for bed. She had to get up early for her duties, and she could sleep easily now. The mistress had told her she did not mind if Belle spoke about her, and therefore she did not feel guilty for gossiping and answering the King's curious questions.

She'd been given permission after all.

  
 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The random art is one I actually made myself. It's not that great but I'm getting better, i think...  
> Anyway, there won't be one for every chapter, but there will be a couple randomly....


	10. A Gift

 

_-Blood in the water like a fog, swirling in the depths of the darkness-_

She gasped, heart hammering too hard in her chest with the beat of panic, of desperation because-

" _Nooo_!!"

_-The only light in the dark was flickering, trying to go out because she couldn't hold it-_

Her muscles ached, static pouring over her skin as she fought to get closer, to reach that muddy pool-

" **Come back!** "

_-It flickered again as lightening suddenly flashed across the sky and rain poured down but just for an instant, just the briefest second, she had seen the long pale hand reaching desperately for her-_

She plunged her hand past the surface of the water, screaming as it poured over her flesh like acid, choking back the bile and panic in her throat as she just brushed his hand and fought to reach him _\- to SAVE HIM BECAUSE HE WAS GOING TO DIE IF SHE DIDN'T_ -

" _NOOOOOO NO NO, **NOOOO**_!!!" 

"Aurora! _Aurora_!"

Her hand closed over his and she could smell the ocean, felt the sweep of warmth, and then she was being pulled up, shaken as his voice echoed around her.

"Aurora, _you must awaken_! Aurora!"

She snapped her eyes open on a gasp that bowed her back up, the sudden movement breaking the hold on her. She fell back on the bed and flinched as hands grabbed her face and turned her. She focused on him then, his skin too pale, his sea blue eyes too wide, worried and concerned, fearful as they gazed back at her.

"T-Tristan?"

Her voice warbled, but he slumped in relief and dropped his forehead against hers with a sigh. His grip relaxed, hair falling to tangle over her skin that she realized was cold, clammy with sweat as her teeth started to chatter and her heart slowed. Tremors ran under her skin as the nightmare faded, pushing back to the edges of her mind as she began to think again. She sucked in a breath and reached up to catch his arms in her hands.

"Tristan wh-what-"

"You were having a night terror flower... are you alright now?"

He sat back slowly, dropping his hands to catch hers and thread their fingers together. She knew he'd meant it reassuringly, but it brought back the flash of the nightmare, of trying to catch the hand and she _knew then it had been his floundering under the water with the blood-_

"Aurora!"

She jerked and brought her gaze back up to his, and his face was creased with concern, eyes bright in the otherwise dim room. He sat on the edge of her bed in those grey sleeping pants, hair a wild tangle around him, his skin hot against the palm of her hand, and he was real. She wasn't dreaming he was _real_.

"I... I don't know.."

Her voice cracked as she barely whispered past the lump in her throat. The panic was still beating with frantic wings against her ribs and she shuddered, focusing desperately on him and the rumble of his voice.

"Is there anything I can do?"

She swallowed and huffed a brittle laugh that she'd meant to be reassuring with a slight shake of her head, dropping her eyes.

"N-no, I'll be okay... I have weird or ... bad dreams all the time.. I just... y'know, get over it..." 

/ _I suffer through it and don't sleep for a couple nights more than an hour at a time until I forget the things I saw._ / But she wasn't saying that.

He waited, staring intently at her for a few moments, the silence stretching until she thought she might scream and then he sighed. Her shoulders dropped instantly and he patted her hand as he set them down in her lap and stood.

"I am sorry that you have these night terrors.."

His voice was a low murmur as he moved, instead of going back to his room like she'd thought he would, he walked over to her window. He closed one side and opened the other wider, and it directed the small gusts of fresh air towards her as he stepped to the side and turned. She instantly took in a deep breath and relaxed farther with half a smile. Damn, she should have thought of that herself.

"I... uhm, m'sorry I woke you..."

She shimmied around until she was back under the covers and curled up on her side facing the door to his room, putting her back to him. She heard his feet moving as he answered, and saw Chopper curled up on his big pillow in the corner that Belle had made for him, watching her with big sad eyes. She felt bad, for scaring both of them and likely kicking poor Chopper off the bed with her fighting.

"Do not apologize for that, it happens..."

She nearly leapt out of her skin, gasping hard enough as she startled to make her lungs ache. The damned ninja cat Sidhe moved in silence, and she halfway turned to see him crawling onto the bed with wide eyes.

"Wh-what are you-?!"

He gave her an exasperated look as he moved down a little and scooted toward her, a gentle hand pushing her shoulder to turn her back. She twisted, stiff as a board as her heart thundered against her ribs, eyes wide enough to burn as she lay back on her side and stared at the wall.

"I am not going to leave you alone after such a scare flower.."

He moved up behind her and wound an arm around her, easily fitting her back against him, and she was pretty sure she stopped breathing. He lay still a moment before he sighed and raised up on one elbow to peer at her curiously.

"Aurora? What is the matter...? Are you still-"

"N-no I uhm.. I just..uhm.."

Her face was flushing red as she stammered, she knew it, but _what the hell!_? He was silent a moment before he made a soft sound in his throat.

"Do humans not offer comfort in touch like this?"

She swallowed, felt like her lungs were going to lock up or explode any minute as she just barely shook her head. She knew her voice was several octaves higher than it should be.

"N-no... not without... ah.. expecting s-something in return I guess... except with children or siblings.. I guess... or couples but even then.. sometimes yeah..I uhm.. I dunno.."

He was silent a moment and finally he shook his head.

"That is sad to know.. we do not view things the same. Sidhe are generally free with touching each other, as a comfort or gesture.. I have slept in a pile of friends before like overgrown cubs because one of us needed it.. it holds significance, but it does not mean we expect anything... that is a lonely way to live..."

She'd heard that about the Sidhe somewhere, but hadn't thought about it. It made her cheeks burn with shame to just expect things, to treat them like humans. And it was bad enough that, well, that thought alone had to be an insult more often than not. Her 'people' were... human. She turned her face into the pillow and sighed, long and deep and then shook her head, her voice muffled.

"M'sorry Tristan, I didn't mean... to insult you... I just-"

He chuckled lightly, reaching out to brush her hair away from her cheek and neck, spreading it over the pillow with a light touch, causing her to shiver.

"You apologize too much flower. It is fine, and I understand. Now, relax and get some sleep. I will be here, do not worry... and your virtue will stay intact."

She snorted at that and grinned, and felt his responding laugh. He knew better than that load of shit by now. He plopped down and shifted a few moments, getting comfortable. Finally they both relaxed, fitting together strangely well she thought, and for once in her life her mind didn't fall into the gutter. His voice rumbled behind her again as her eyes felt heavy, and she briefly entertained the thought that he was putting her asleep with a little magic. 

"Rest Aurora, I will keep you safe..."

She buried her face in the pillow and murmured something incoherent into her pillow after a long yawn, and felt all the tension sliding out of her muscles. Yeah, he was totally helping her fall back asleep, but she wasn't going to complain. She was warm and comfy, and the dark fuzzy blanket of sleep was sweeping over her vision, and she finally just gave in with a sigh.

Tristan smiled as she fell asleep and dropped the small bead of magic he'd used to help her. He shifted only slightly with his own yawn, turning a little and moving to slide his arm under the pillow his head rested on. His fingers pricked something, and he frowned, sitting up and pulling it out from under the pillow. As he did his lips parted in shock, and he stared at the flower he'd made for her more than a week ago.

_She'd kept it..._.

He turned his gaze back to her, thoughtful, then carefully pushed the flower to the far side of his pillow out of harms way to lay back down. And maybe when he curled around her to fall asleep, he held her a little bit tighter.

 

\----

 

Aurora yawned, stretching sinuously, back popping as she moved then collapsed in on herself with a contented sigh. She was really warm and comfortable, her pillow really damned soft. She tugged the blankets up over her shoulder and burrowed back under them, rubbing her cheek against the pillow, determined to drift back into full sleep instead of the nice fuzzy half awake feeling she had for another few hours. Her bed smelled fresh and really good, like the ocean, and something warmer, a darker musk that made her curl a little tighter around the pile of blankets she was sprawled around and tangled with, humming softly in her throat. Her hands flexed, scraping her nails lightly over the bed, a habit she'd long had, but this time it moved in a rolling wave in response and made a low rumble under her cheek.

_Wait.._.

She frowned and moved her hand slightly, splaying it flat over the bed, which was again, much warmer than she thought it should be, then curled her nails up again, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Then she thought, _oh_ , Chopper, _of course_. 

But Chopper didn't smell like- her thoughts stuttered to an instant crashing halt as the 'bed' bucked up in response, and she felt the flex of muscles and a deep half asleep groan. Then she remembered; _Tristan_. 

_Oh **FU**_ -

She yelped when she was suddenly slammed onto her back and pinned by a heavy weight that pressed down on her, sleep warmed and too hot and muscled and - and - _oh by everything that was holy_ -

"Tr-Trisss-t-tan!?!"

He smoothed his hands up her sides and dropped his face into her neck, breathing her in and she shuddered as his breath puffed hot against her skin. _UHM- uh_ she was - she was suppose to- _do SOMETHING and uhm_ \- 

His lips brushed across her pulse as she latched her hands onto his shoulders, completely intent on pushing him away and screeching at him in absolute horror, and she just managed to twitch her hands. Then he was smirking, flat out smirking because she could feel it, as that long body made a slow roll against her the same time as his teeth scraped across her frantic pulse and he hummed deep in his chest and _holy **FUCKING**_ \- 

_/* **BANG** */_

He flinched as the door swung open and crashed against the wall with a sound like thunder and someone stepped into it. She was moving before she realized it, arms up, sliding under the pillow and grabbing. Before Tristan had his mouth open good she'd brought the 1911 up and had it pointed at the figure in the door, dropping the hammer back, finger outside the trigger guard, both hands wrapped around the grip. The sound was loud in the sudden silence, and she met huge gold and black eyes, and realized the gun was just past the end of Tristan's nose, and he was staring at it wide eyed. She flinched and swallowed as Wraith slumped in on himself and turned to call over his shoulder.

"They are in here Stratos-"  
...................

_Well the asshole could at let_ pretended _to have thought she'd shoot him._

They heard the pounding of quick steps and the Captain appeared in the doorway, hair wild and eyes wide. He collapsed against the door as he caught sight of them and clapped a hand to his chest.

"By the gods, when you were not in your bed Prince,..."

He trailed off, and suddenly they were all looking at her as she slowly uncocked the gun and lowered it.

"You scared me...it was a ..reflex..."

Tristan's lips were twitching, and she met his gaze. "Good reflexes.."

The low murmur made her remember again just what the hell had been going on and her face flamed red as she jammed the gun under her pillow again, pointing towards the far wall, and then shoved at him as she screeched.

" **GODAMNIT TRISTAN!** _What the HELL are you doing?!_ "

This time _he_ yelped in surprise as she curled up her legs and pushed him. He flailed up and over onto the other side of the bed, bouncing as he landed, and she rolled out to stand, glaring at him as she slapped her hands on her hips. She'd be damned if she straightened her nightgown or her hair, knowing her eyes were shooting undignified sparks because she hadn't been complaining earlier. Hell she hadn't been able to form a coherent damned word much less-

She heard one of the guards choke behind her as Tristan sat up, his own hair askew and looked chagrined, even sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Sorry flower... it was a... reaction."

She glared at him, face thunderous, she was sure her cheeks growing hotter as she realized he was right - it had kind of been her fault; he probably thought she'd been asking for it. She whirled and leveled the scowl on the two guards who snapped straight and instantly wiped all the amusement off their faces.

"And just where the hell did the two of you think he had gone, hmm? Next time why don't you just check or knock first!? What if we HAD been having wild monkey sex from the ceiling? It would have scarred the both of you for life!"

She threw up her hands with a screech of frustration as their jaws dropped, and she stormed out and into her bathroom, slamming the door behind her. They all flinched, and turned to look at each other wide eyed. She reopened the door again just enough to stick her head out and yell.

" _And someone send me Belle to help me out in here please! **Fucking MEN**!_ "

Then she slammed the door again.

They stared for a few seconds of silence, and as the shower cut on they all turned to look at each other. Stratos mouthed the words 'wild monkey sex??' at the Prince, who threw up both hands and shook his head wildly, eyes wide. Hell if he knew!

 

She stood under the shower spray as hot as she could stand it and thumped her head against the wall steadily, berating herself for acting like a goddamned fool. By the time she had dried off and wrapped a robe around her, Belle was edging into the room with wide eyes, watching her carefully. The guys must have warned her.

Aurora stared at her as the maid closed the door behind her and hesitated just a second before moving forward. It was only a moment after she saw the other woman when Aurora's lip trembled and she burst into tears, setting heavily down onto the small stool behind her and covering her face. The maid rushed over in concern.

"Mistress what-"

"I-I'm so s-stupid I don't - I don't know - wh-what I'm doing anymore a-and - I just -"

She hiccupped and broke off into a low warble, and the maid wrapped her in a hug and shushed her.

"It will be okay mistress, do not cry, it is alright..."

 

 

"Thank you Belle... for helping me.."

She looked in the mirror over her shoulder at the maid who was busy brushing the rats nest, ah, tangles, out of her hair. The maid paused for just a moment to glance at her and smiled slightly.

"You do not have to thank me mistress, you have done more than enough for me.."

Aurora reached up and touched Belle's hand, bringing her gaze back in surprise.

"I consider you my friend Belle, not just like, a friggin maid or something, you know that right?"

Belle's lip trembled, but she sent her a bright smile. "Thank you mi-ah, Aurora."

Aurora beamed at her, feeling much better now. The maid worked in silence another few minutes, before Aurora mumbled something.

"Let's... not tell the guys about the chick flick scene earlier,.... okay?"

Belle just laughed. "Of course my lady..."

 

 

So she'd known she was getting ready because they had the trip today, the one that had come as such a sudden invite yesterday that the guys were worried about, but she didn't think it was such a _bad_ thing. She was kind of excited, but Belle was seriously fussing over her this morning. Was it because of her mini freakout earlier? She mulled it over, but after Belle continued fussing, and fussing, and _fussing,_ over herhair she finally drew the maid into another conversation to try to find out. 

The answer was not what she expected.

Come to find out the reason Belle spent so much time on her hair was because the royal entourage must pass through the neighboring towns, villages, etcetera, on the way to the UnSeelie Sithen, and the Prince's Consort must look like the Prince's Consort. Aurora bolted off the stool and ran out of the bathroom in a sudden panic.

_Nobody said she she'd have to show off!!_

"Tristaaaaaaaan!"

She smacked open the door of his bedroom and froze as they all turned to her with wide curious eyes. And then she started to babble.

_Was her nose bleeding? Holy mother of -_

"Aurora, dear, are you alright? Whatever is the matter?"

"I - I uhm - what's - uhm, the t-trip - I ..."

"My lady is a bit overly worried about the trip to the UnSeelie Sithen sire, she worries about her appearance from here to there and is quite upset. I believe she did not realize she would be paraded through the country side on the way to the court..."

Belle's voice was full of amusement and sarcasm, and Aurora nodded dumbly. Uh huh, yeah that. Was she staring? Or god forbid was she drooling?

Tristan turned to fully face her and she was pretty sure several of her brain cells just popped and fizzled into dust. Oh _not fair_.

_Surely_ she was drooling.

Wraith, Stratos, and Sine all stood just past Tristan, outfitted in their apparent 'traveling gear'. They each had their own swords strapped to their sides, with a belt looped around their waists covered in silver designs of moons and seashells; apparently to show the whole 'Prince's guard' thing. The same type of engravings covered the thick silver bands around their biceps, and the torcs around their necks. There was a clasp on each of their shoulders, holding up a piece of fabric that hung down their arms and across their chests in simple folds, each a bright color that matched the eyes of the guard wearing it. Below the belt that held their scabbard was what looked like black harem pants that tucked into matching black boots. The pants rose low, below their hip bones, and cinched with a bright tie the same color as the top cloth, snug at the top and flaring out above the knee until it bunched in at the top of the calf high boots. 

Aurora slapped a hand over her mouth and choked.

Tristan looked concerned and came forward hurriedly, holding out a hand.

"Aurora? What-"

She squeaked, a shrill sound that escaped as she whirled to put her back to him. First of all, Sidhe had no modesty whatsoever, sometimes, it was a freaking glory.

_Others, like when the Prince of said Sidhe was walking toward her buck ass naked without anything except his hair to hide him, she couldn't handle it_.

**Secondly, did she mention the prince was naked?!**

_"M'FINE!"_

She was practically shrieking.

His hand landed on her shoulder and she tensed as he urged her to turn, and she slapped both hands over her eyes as she did. She wasn't looking she wasn't looking she _WASN'T LOOKING SHE WASNTLOOKING-_

"Aurora what is the matter? You are flushed and you feel too warm.. Are you ill?"

He pressed his palms against her neck, and a brittle laugh scraped out of her throat. 

"I-m uhm - I just - I had - question - a-about the uhm - the t-trip and -a-and uhm - I'll g-give you a few m-minutes to get f-finished and I'll come back.... yeah... yeah! Thats it! I'll come back I'm fine okay thanks bye!"

Then she bolted back into the other room. The sidhe all looked after her in concern, and the Prince looked at Belle in confusion.

"Belle, is she alright?"

The maid's amused smile widened. "I believe she is having a... 'meltdown', as she calls it sire. I believe it would help if you had... more clothing on when she returns."

He frowned and looked down at himself and over his shoulder at the guards, who all shrugged.

 

 

"It is a sight to behold, is it not?"

Aurora jerked, startled out of her internal revelries, ( _which most certainly did_ not _involve the sight she'd seen this morning!!_ ), by the low murmur at her side. She whirled, her expression turning sheepish as she clutched the bridle in her hands tightly and scrunched her shoulders. Tristan's blue eyes were dancing with amusement, a small smile curving his lips as he watched her knowingly.

"Well, u-uhm, yeah.. s'beautiful out here.."

He hummed, glancing around, freeing her from the trap of his tricolored eyes, and she followed his gaze. They were on their way to the UnSeelie court, currently traveling through the countryside, and it was utterly beautiful out here. Sine, Wraith, and Stratos rode in a loose triangle around her and Tristan. Aurora had been ecstatic to see the beautiful horses at the stables waiting on them, and of course she'd had to pet and coo at each one. At the thought she bent down over her own horses neck and patted it, murmuring to it again with a smile. The animals were somewhat different from the ones back home, of course, but not by too much. The colors were the most unusual, since they could be any color of the rainbow. The three guards had mounts that were built like war horses, tall brutes with roped muscles, wide shoulders, and were absolutely massive. The mounts she and Tristan had were different, built for speed and showing off; beautiful, lean animals with flowing curves and long wispy hair. Of course, both hers and Tristan's were brothers, twins it seemed, both a soft pearly grey color with multi hued white manes.

She'd commented that they made her think somewhat of Iridius, and it had amused the guys to no end. 

At her attention her mount tossed his head and knickered at her, and she laughed softly. What still surprised her though, was that she swore she was picking up something like thoughts from the animal. When she focused on him, Torum he was called, she could catch things. Nothing like any real language, no words, but there were mental pictures, memories, scents and sounds and feelings, and some of the same ones were associated with the words Tristan and the others spoke. Images of Torum's brother would come up at the mention of his brothers name, Vorum, things like that. 

She wondered if she should bring it up or...

"I would ask or... well, perhaps I should say that..."

She turned back as Tristan looked down, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat sheepishly, and gave her this self conscious, charming smile that had her heart melting.

"What I mean is, I am sorry if I ... 'freaked you out', as you say, this morning, flower."

At the very thought her face heated again and she laughed, a little high pitched but nothing like before.

"N-no, its okay. You didn't do anything wrong Tristan, I just.. its totally fine."

_Toooootally fine_. She felt the flush in her cheeks, but he smiled and seemed to loose some of the tension in his shoulders. Good.

After that, when the others crowded around them to talk, it was all laughing and joking, relaxed smiles as the guys bantered back and forth, effectively taking her mind off of her earlier mortification.

She loved them all a little more for that.

 

 

She found that the rumours of the Prince's entourage had spread well in advance of their journey, and Sidhe from all over were coming to the main roads to smile and wave at them all.

And bless the Prince's heart if he didn't stop and speak to every single person. He talked to them all, shook hands with the warriors, clapped the young men on the shoulders and told them how mighty and courageous they looked. He was, apparently, a sucker for children, although she noticed there weren't very many, just one or two every few groups of people. He even smiled at all of the women, flirted with those that seemed older, and made them all blush. Of course, Stratos and the guards joined in on all of this, and they pulled her along with their whirlwind merrily. 

She forgot to be intimidated, or even shy.

They just leaving behind one group, still waving and calling out goodbyes,. She was still wiping the tears from her eyes from laughing, because Stratos, and the normally stoic Wraith, had dueled with the adolescent boy in the last group. He'd wielded his sword and smote the both of them, and they had lain in the dirt and wailed piteously as though truly wounded. Tristan had carted the victorious boy up on his shoulders amidst the laughing and cheers of the group of twelve or so Sidhe.

It was the cutest thing she'd ever seen.

"Hey, Tristan?"

He turned to her instantly, eyes still sparking with mirth, lips curved up, and she felt something in her chest kick that she pushed down.

"So, how long is this journey to the UnSeelie court?"

He reached up and rubbed at his face with the back of his hand, smearing a little bit of dirt high across his cheek, and smiled impishly when he answered her. Christ he was just a big kid.

She was holding back the laughter, but just barely.

"We should be there by nightfall, perhaps a little after. It depends on how many more groups we encounter, and how long we spend at each one. If we could ride down this path straight from one court to the next, at least at a leisurely pace, it would perhaps take only two hours."

"Two hours!? Good grief.."

He laughed, and she wondered why there was such a difference between the man she saw here, so proud to be seen with his followers, so caring of all of them, and the man she saw when he stood by his parents. She shook her head and turned at a sound, seeing yet another bird dip and pinwheel by her, twittering happily as it passed. Many animals had come out to do something like that during the journey so far, and she absolutely adored it. Even some bigger things moved through the underbrush, although not all of them would come out to be openly seen.

She could hear them though, and it was like they knew she could.

She turned back around just as Tristan smiled again, and she told herself not to play pranks on the High Prince of the Seelie.

"Tristan, you've ah.. you've got something there on your face. Perhaps we should go and let the lot of you bathe in that river you said we'd pass before long."

His eyes went wide and he scrubbed at his face, reddening his cheeks and screwing up his hair. Then he stopped and blinked at her, waiting. She wasn't holding in the laughter very well.

"Nope still missed it."

He looked so disgusted at himself as he tried again, and effectively smeared more of the dirt over his cheek with the very hand he'd gotten it on with in the first place. She started laughing and he glowered at her, lip pouted out, absolutely mutinous, and she clapped her hand over her mouth to keep in the burst of giggling.

"Come here Mr all powerful prince, I'll get it so you don't have to pout about it."

He brightened and leaned way over towards her, making her roll her eyes as he batted his eyes at her.

"Pathetic, absolutely pathetic, here-"

She had the strangest urge to lick her thumb and wipe it off like an embarrassing mom, but she refrained. _Barely_. Surely licking his face would send the wrong impression. The very thought still had her snickering as she lifted up the edge of her dress, this off the shoulder, breezy thing that was champagne colored and soft, using it to wipe at his cheek. He kept his gaze focused on her while she did it, and she could feel her cheeks heating under his scrutiny. 

"What are you staring at?"

She murmured the question, and he responded back just as soft while she finished and dropped the edge of her dress with a flourish and a soft victorious smile.

"One of the most beautiful creatures I believe I have ever seen."

She met his gaze as she flushed, feeling that strange kick in her chest again, and snorted at him. He grinned, unrepentant, and she bit off the instant urge to tell him he must not get out much or some comment against what he said. Instead she actually smiled a little after just a moment, and leaned forward very quickly, pressing a quick, light kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you.".

He jerked up straight and stared at her, his entire face blushing bright red as he stammered.

"O-of course f-flower."

Satisfaction that she'd gotten him for once thrummed through her and she hid the victorious grin by turning away as the Prince's horse slowed without him urging it forward. He looked so thunderstruck that she couldn't help the small laugh that bubbled up, and Stratos moved his horse over closer, sitting up straight and looking forward as if nothing had happened. Then he held out his fist towards her subtly, and she fist bumped him, something she'd taught him a week ago, with another laugh as he winked at her.

 

Aurora stood beside Tristan as he talked to a woman who was almost glowing, looking between her and the group of villagers around them. They were all so nice, all gathered to see their prince, and she liked them all. They were even nice to her, and they didn't know her, thought her some amazing thing because she was the first mortal they had seen in forever. 

She was enamored with all the people though, really. They were all different colors, all shades and hues, some vibrant or bright, some glittered or shimmered, some were dark or shadowy, some seemed almost transparent, and then there were some that stood out even amongst the rest. Some that were like the elements made into Sidhe form, like water and fire, or the girl that had seemed like parts of her were made of clouds. There were people that were like an animal, moving with this wild grace, almost feral, with those eyes and some of the features of the animals they took after. She seemed to become easily entranced with those, mostly the ones who took after predators, like the guy who had seemed to take after some large feline. _Oh he had been coooooooool_.

She jerked back to herself as Tristan said something and touched her arm, sending her a bright smile that was proud, and really excited. What had she missed?

Damn.

"My flower, this woman, Mera, has asked that we give her a blessing."

She linked at him and looked back at the woman with wide eyes.

"Wh-what? Me?! I-I don't know how to - to do.. that...."

The woman was a bit small, even by fey standards she thought. She was olive complected, with large violet eyes that seemed so soft, sincere, so oddly innocent. She must be young. Her hair was a fall of deep purple, curling wild around her, and she wore a simple violet dress that moved around her as she shifted her feet.

Something about her stood out, like she was glowing, not just with happiness, but something else, something she couldn't put her finger on. Maybe it was just how she always was? She could ask Tristan later, maybe he would know.

The beautiful, ecstatic smile she'd had the entire time dimmed as uncertainty clouded her eyes, and instantly Aurora felt bad.

"It is alright-"

"No no, no! Please don't misunderstand me! I would love too! I mean.. I would, I just... I don't know how? Tristan? I mean, can I even do that? What is it?"

Mera clasped her hands together and held them to her chest as they both turned to look at the prince beseechingly. He paled a little and cleared his throat, looking around, and she saw that the entire group had fallen silent and gathered around. Uhm...

"Well.. ah, you see flower, it is... ah..."

His cheeks colored, and she spoke up to the surrounding people who were watching in puzzlement. Obviously this was a simple thing to them.

"I am still learning my magic, so he.. still has to explain things to me sometimes is all.."

There was a soft chorus of 'oh's' and 'ahh's' as they murmured and nodded, smiling encouragingly at her. She flushed and Tristan sent her a grateful look. They both turned as Sine stepped up and held up a finger, looking a bit sheepish.

"I believe I may be able to offer some help, if I may sire.."

Tristan nodded, and she turned to the guard, smiling at him as he began to try to explain. The others looked confused, but he was talking to her on her level, and kind of speaking in code so that the townspeople didn't understand purposely; they still weren't quite up to advertising her magic yet. Finally the light clicked on in her head and she understood. Duh!

It was kind of like a wish for good luck, protection, prosperity. Things like that. One simply added a little power behind the wish, like sprinkling confetti over the other persons head. She could probably do that. She turned back to Tristan who looked relieved as she smiled.

"I think I can do that."

"Of course flower, let us proceed then.."

He held up his hand and she blushed a little but brought hers up, watching as he fit the back of her hand into his palm and twined their fingers together. Then he turned to the woman, stretching out his arm, and consequently hers, pointing their palms towards her, and closing his eyes. Aurora closed her own and listened, letting the music rise up, wash over her, and she reached for her own.

Each different strand of music around her pulsed to the beat of life that it belonged to, like a great symphony of sound, soft notes dancing and whirling behind her closed lids, making her smile, and then-

_Something wrong_.

She went stiff, and heard Tristan's magic falter as he felt her hesitation, turned toward her and lowered their arms.

"Aurora?"

His voice sounded distorted, but she was listening, frowning, reaching for that discordant note. She knew she'd heard it, but what was it? It was like harmony, and everything around her went black and white, simple, clean as she searched for that one simple - _there_! A flash of color amidst the rest. She heard it again! It was like it was copying another persons music, but it kept faltering, and it was so weak and soft, like a little echo of-

Her eyes snapped open, and she focused on Mera as she gasped in surprise.

"That's what it is! You're pregnant! I knew you seemed like you were positively glowing! Like more than the other glowing, you know? Oh that's so amazing, congratulations! That's why you wanted the blessing wasn't it!"

Aurora burst out, speaking so fast that she leaned forward and hugged the stiff girl, yanking Tristan forward a step and back as she moved back to grin at her. It was then she noticed that dead silence had fallen around them, and the girl looked pale, wide eyed, shocked. A man, her mate that Aurora had met earlier, stepped up behind her and put his clawed hand on her shoulder, looking just as wide eyed as he scented the air near her. He shook his head slowly as the woman's eyes filled with luminous tears.

"I fear you are mistaken my lady... we have been trying to conceive for many years but we have as of yet had no such blessings bestowed upon us.."

She felt sick. Oh god what had she done? Mera sniffled, and Tristan caught her arm, looking saddened and beyond pained for his people. 

"Perhaps it would be best if we continued on my flower.."

She could hear the pain in his voice, and she felt her own lip quiver as the people around them all looked down at the ground. How could she have been so wrong though? She'd heard- 

_There it was again!_

Aurora whipped her head back around and stared at the woman's stomach, eyebrows knitting together, lips thinning out as she frowned.

"No! I am telling you, I can hear it Tristan!"

His eyes rounded and his jaw dropped, and the people around them gasped, murmuring among themselves and whispering. Hope flickered in Mera's gaze as she put a protective hand over her stomach, and Aurora stomped her foot, hissing at Tristan.

"It sounds like her music, but its smaller, and its really weak! I wouldn't have noticed it but it.. it keeps.. faltering.."

His eyes went wide, and she heard more gasps as they all stared in shock. Mera swayed, and her mate, Karel she'd called him, instantly swooped her up and cradled her to his chest. Tristan turned to Wraith and Stratos, and she could suddenly see the authority, the royal mantle appear over his shoulders as he barked an order.

"Stratos, send a message to Iridius, have him come. Wraith, see if there is a healer of any skill nearby."

They both nodded and quickly bolted off to do what he'd said. He turned back to her, and opened his mouth, but they both paused as Mera let out a sob, despite her mate's soft reassuring murmurs as he kissed her temple and cradled her to him.

"Tell me we w-were not finally blessed w-with a child to o-only have it t-taken away Karel!"

He looked ashen, hands tightening around his mate as he shuddered, and she saw the pain in his eyes that were a deep, dark blue as they landed on her.

"Please my lady.. if you can hear our child, is there anything you can do?"

She started to shake her head in horror, but Tristan's hand flexed against her shoulder. She looked up, and although his eyes were wary, he nodded once.

"You can flower, you know what to do. Please, try for them."

Panic seized her heart and brought her pulse thundering in her ears at the thought alone. Something so important, so precious, so fragile, put in her hands? Were they all _CRAZY?!?_

She heard it again, and it seemed to wobble a little more, drawn out, thready, and sluggishly try to follow its mothers music again. _Oh god..._

"B-but Tristan I cant-- how do I-- I mean -"

She heard the muffled sob from Mera, and she stammered to a stop, turning slowly to look at the weeping woman with a heavy heart. She glanced back at Tristan again, and he nodded.

"I know you can, flower."

She stared a moment, swallowed past the lump in her throat, squared her shoulders, and stiffened her spine.   
She couldn't let it die, she had to at least try.

"Alright, I'll... I'll do it."

She barely heard the gasps and tearful words around her as her heart thundered her ears. _Oh god what was she doing_?

She stepped up close as Mera turned to see her, tear streaked face brightening with hope, and Aurora hoped fervently that it was well placed. _Goddess guide her in this, don't let her let these people down...._

"Okay.. I'm just.. yeah, here I go.. tell me if.. you feel anything, okay?"

Mera nodded, and Aurora took a deep breath, reaching out to lay her palms over the other woman's stomach, hoping the proximity would help her focus a little, and

closed her eyes. It had seemed to help with Wraith. 

She listened again, focused solely on the music around her, looking for that thread of sound to follow it back to the child. Everything around her seemed to go black and white again, and suddenly a furl of color danced across her vision with the discordant note. She hastily reached for it, winding her magic down and along the thready sound toward the origin. And there she found it, as if it had suddenly lit up with an xray. It was a tiny little baby, maybe the size of her palm, surely only weeks old. Its skin was a soft violet, its features so delicate and tiny, so fragile looking. She knew she had to be shaking, fearful of hurting it, but she wanted to help. So she made her music soft, lilting, beautiful and coaxing, and wound it around the baby's so still form like a hug, extending her hand as if she would touch it. She could hear its heart beating, like the flutter of butterfly wings. Then she caught it's attention, it seemed to turn to her; she actually felt a tentative brush of its magic against hers. It was so bright, so pure and innocent that it took her breath away.

It was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen.

She sent it a gentle reassurance, coaxed it farther into this world, to life, and offered it strength.

 

 

When she woke, she was being held against someone's chest, and her mind was fuzzy. She shifted a little as she caught the scent of the ocean under her cheek, a flash of silken blue tangled over her shoulder, then a familiar voice.

"She is coming around! Aurora, flower, can you hear me?"

His voice wavered, and with a groan she slammed the door almost shut that let her hear the music, turning down the cacophony of noise to a bearable level. She lifted her head and groaned, opening her eyes all the way, looking around, seeing the sidhe still gathered around her, but immediately were Stratos, Wraith, and Sine. All above Tristan.

"Tristan? What-?"

"You were helping Mera, do you remember? The child?"

She thought a minute, and as she did it rushed back in. The tiny figure, the music, the light, and then-

"Wh-what happened?! Is it okay?! Did I-"

He huffed a relieved laugh, gently setting her on her feet. She swayed just a little, but he held her steady as she tilted her head to see. Mera and Karel stepped up, and they were smiling, happy. Mera moved forward and wrapped her in a hug that ground her very bones together, making her wheeze as the woman sobbed a laugh, and moved back.

"You did it your grace, you saved our child! I can feel him now, strong, moving, alive! I cannot thank you enough!!"

Karel moved forward and lifted her off her feet in a hug, his chest rumbling with a teary laugh of his own as she swung her around.

"Yes your grace, you have saved our child! We are forever in your debt!"

As he sat her down and Tristan caught her, steadying her, the sidhe around them erupted into cheers, and she looked around in a daze.

"I - I did it? It's - he's gonna be okay?"

She looked up and Tristan was beaming at her, so proud it made her stomach drop into her feet and she found herself returning his bright smile.

"Yes my heart, you did it, you saved the child. You see? I knew you could."

She looked back at the woman who was glowing, one hand over her stomach, covered by the larger hand of her mate as he bent down and kissed her temple, as they shared a smile full of love.

_She'd done it... thank the goddess._

_She was going to go pass out on her horse now, thank you very much._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse for the fluff and sexual tension.


	11. Arrival at the Dark Court

 

Is that the Prince's mate mom?"

"I.. well.. she is-"

"Yes little one, she is my mate."

"She looks strange...."

Aurora squeezed her eyes shut tighter, mumbling, hearing the voices talking around her, knew they had to be talking about her. When had she fallen asleep? She blinked open her eyes to bright sunlight, wisps of cerulean hair, and the column of a long pale throat just past her nose.

"Navi do not say such a thing!"

Tristan's voice was amused as he spoke, rumbling under her ear as she shifted a little and yawned.

"It is because she is human, so she is different than us."

"Oh.. can I meet her?"

"Well.. she is-"

"M'awake..."

He moved then, hands catching on her arms to hold her as she straightened slowly, blinking blearily. They were stopped in another little clearing along the road, with about ten Sidhe standing around speaking animatedly with the other guards, and five standing around her and Tristan, with one little wide eyed curious girl, she would say eight if she was human, in the middle.

She was, apparently, sitting across Tristan's lap, up on his horse. Ah, poor Vorum...

"When did I..?"

She twisted to look up at him, and Tristan smiled at her, proud, soft.

"You started slipping just out of the last group after we left. I brought you over to my horse to allow you to sleep off the effects of the...magic."

She yawned and covered her mouth, nodding a little, before returning his smile.

"Well.. thank you. So we are... we've got a new group of people to meet, huh?"

His smile brightened, and he turned back, smiling down at the little waif on the ground that was still staring at her with awestruck eyes.

"Yes flower, and this youngling here, Navi, was quite curious about you."

The little girl flushed and looked down, twisting her hands in the front of her dress shyly. She was terribly cute, her skin a pale yellow, hair a bright gold with spiral curls tipped in pink, and matching tricolored eyes.

"Well, hello there Navi..."

"Hello your grace.."

The little girl grabbed the edges of her dress and dipped a curtsy, finally looking up again with a bright, innocent smile.

"You look very different from the rest of us."

Aurora's cheeks flushed but she smiled back, long used to the direct ways of children.

"That's because I'm human, I'm suppose to be different."

The little girl ignored her mothers hiss of disapproval and the sheepish, apologetic look she sent the both of them to grin.

"Well, I think you are very pretty..."

Aurora's eyes went wide and Tristan chuckled.

"I do too youngling..."

The little girl looked proud, and finally Aurora cleared her throat and smiled back, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand.

"Well thank you sweetheart. I think you are very beautiful too. "

The little girl went red and stepped closer to her mothers skirt, who laughed and dropped her hand onto the little girls head, sending Aurora a thankful smile as she answered.

"Thank you my lady. She is a good child, if a bit capricious."

Aurora couldn't help her laugh. "That's just a plus of being a kid, she's adorable."

The woman beamed proudly, and ushered her daughter back a little so that the next person could step up and speak with the Prince. Thankfully, this meeting went about without any great thing happening, and after they left the group behind Aurora switched back to her own horse. Torum pranced happily and whinnied at her, causing her to laugh and ruffle his mane.

"Good horse. Didn't let me fall off on my ass or anything."

She caught a wave of amusement from the horse, whose response was a mental image of him walking very carefully over to his brother and nudging the prince's leg with his nose to get his attention. She snickered and glanced at Tristan. So that was how he'd noticed her falling asleep. Uh huh.

 

They came through an ornate gate, something that looked like aged wood, black and grey branches twisted and entwined into intricate knots and designs that looked vaguely Celtic to her as they passed underneath. The 'gate' was what Tristan referred to as the edge of the lands of the UnSeelie Sithen. Course, it was more of an archway, but she had no doubt some splash of magic could turn it into a formidable blockage to the road.

What she didn't expect was the instant change as soon as they passed under the gently swaying branches. She could smell it on the air.

Aurora shifted on Torum's back, looking into the deep woods on either side of the road. The trees themselves were huge, growing far up into the sky and towering over them as they clacked and whispered in the breeze. It was still warm here, the heat of summer seeping into her bones from the dappled sunlight, but some of the humidity had faded. She thought the big river they'd passed before must not wind too close to this part of the woods. But the scent here was different too. Overhead she could see different animals watching their passing, likely coming out to look at her like so many others had. She thought she recognized some of them, but then she'd noticed while many of the animals seemed much like some from home, there could be simple differences, or really major ones, some of which weren't always apparent at first. So what seemed like birds, monkeys, and maybe even some squirrels, could be some really strange shit.

But it did bring her to notice the trees themselves a bit more. They were all white, some tinged grey, with wide five star leaves that were purple and gold. They were beautiful. She looked down, and the forest floor was covered with teal blue grass, fallen leaves, some brush here and there that looked to be dark purple for the most part, and an overabundance of flowers of every shape, size, and color. Kind of like the gardens at the Seelie Sithen, but these were darker, with more vibrant colors, no pastel or neon colors that she could see. While it was in fact amazing, she was wondering if the differences throughout the kingdom would be as subtle, or if they would be more obvious.

Surely she would look back later and laugh at herself for wondering.

If Tristan was right, and they were within a couple miles from the Sithen, she would soon find out.

She couldn't stop smiling, practically bouncing in the saddle, excitement making her heart pound as she looked all around. The guys sent her amused smiles, used to her antics by now apparently, and she beamed at them. It was then that she caught something at the edge of her 'perimeter'. She had no other word for what she called the edge of what seemed like a circle around her where she could hear the different strands of music. She hadn't tried to extend it any yet, since it hadn't seemed really important, and she wasn't sure how far out the edge was exactly, just well out of eye shot. But whatever had just caught her attention had flared up and disappeared, so it had to be right at the edge. She stared off into the woods after it, going still, wondering, curious, straining to catch another glimmer of it.  
It had been beautiful, haunting, ageless, something that whispered of the wild, wide open spaces, of unobstructed freedom, a ferocious pride, of dark warm spaces. It brought her heart into her throat and sent her pulse hammering, made her want to leap off of Torum and run after it to find out whatever it had been-

"Aurora, what is it?"

She had to drag her eyes around to look at Tristan, trying to give him a reassuring smile as her muscles quivered.

"I just.. caught the edge of something. It was weird, er, unusual. That's all..."

Sine snorted from his spot in the line in front of them, and glanced back over his shoulder.

"We are in the UnSeelie kingdom now, there will be plenty of -unusual- things my lady."

Tristan frowned at him, and she rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Then I suppose I will fit in very well here."

Sine sent her a slightly wide eyed look, but Tristan looked amused, and Stratos shared a laugh with Wraith who spoke up then.

"I believe you will not find it in her to instantly disdain the darkling throng because they are not part of the Seelie, Sine. You may stop acting as though you do."

They all laughed, but she looked at Sine and wondered if he was actually pretending.

 

When they rounded the last bend a short time later, her jaw dropped as she stared in awe.

Before them sat the UnSeelie Sithen, a grand castle much like the Seelie's in base design, but it was so very much different as well. Where the main castle of the Seelie were rose tinted or pale yellow sandstone, the UnSeelie's walls were white marble, engraved with scrolling silver knotwork and designs, with black marble accents around the entire castle, like the gigantic marble pillars around the front entryway. The entire thing sparkled in the daylight, but seemed to glow from within with its own power, seething with creeping shadows that slithered in the darker recesses where the sunlight didn't reach. But strangely, instead of ominous or foreboding, she felt a thrill dance up her spine as they slowed the horses. Directly overhead the castle the sun was setting, the bright ball halfway disappearing behind the spiraling towers, and the sky was alive with colors, blood red bleeding into the burnt orange of ripe pumpkins, out into the yellow splash of the gold of autumn leaves. It seemed like it was pulling the blanket of stars behind it, the pitch black of the sky dotted with a million multicolored stars. Or maybe the night was pushing the sun away.

_Wait, where had that come from_?

The thought made her start to grin, the excitement she'd had earlier returning tenfold. The sun was moving fast enough that she was watching it fall behind the castle, seeming to glow brighter as if saying goodbye. They pulled their horses to a stop, yards from the steps to the entry, amidst the trees and gardens of the courtyard, and Tristan urged Vorum forward. She let Torum follow his lead, stopping by his side, watching as Tristan took a single deep breath, and was suddenly the High Prince of the Seelie Sidhe once again. His shoulders straightened, his back rigid, sitting perfectly in the saddle as even Vorum lifted his head and adopted a more haughty air. Then his voice rang out, clear through the relative silence of the clearing, which she suddenly realized was weird. Wait, why _was_ it so quiet? Where was the 'welcome' party for the 'royal entourage'? Shouldn't there be one?

"Hail to the UnSeelie, to my dearest Uncle Borrum, the High King of the UnSeelie Sidhe. It is I, the High Prince of the Seelie Sidhe, your nephew Tristan, come to visit on your behest."

The silence stretched for just a moment, the world seemed to take in a collective breath, and she felt something gathering to a crescendo. Above them the sun paused just above the castle, casting one final ray of light over their group, almost blinding as it fell out of sight. She covered her eyes and winced, but the others stared after it, almost longingly, and she heard Tristan sigh.

Suddenly, as if the sun's rays had been holding it back, her entire world erupted into something very close to chaos. But gods it was _beautiful_.

She stared in obvious awe as the music of a hundred or so Seelie came to life, followed instantly by the peal of flutes, horns, and beating drums. Wind poured out of the entryway as UnSeelie came dancing and twirling out of the opening in vivid colors, laughing and shouting as they wound around her and the guards and filled the clearing. They reached up with light hands, darting close and away with bright smiles and even brighter eyes and contagious bell like laughter, sweeping brief touches over the horses and over her feet, ankles, skirt, hands, and even her hair. She jerked in surprise at the first one, but then began to laugh, lifting up her hands, holding them out and twisting around to watch them passing by. It was not only her, but the guards did not seem to like it as much, and Tristan had a fondly exasperated look on his face, as if already used to this show. But when he caught her eye, he actually grinned, maybe enjoying her reaction.

She suddenly whipped around as her attention was caught by music, something that snapped her back forward to look at the entryway. She could scent that smell on the wind, growing thicker, headier, of incense and fall, spices and cinnamon and the crisp fresh burst of fall air. The drums changed, beat a little faster, and her heart followed the rhythm, pounding against her ribs as a single violin sang through the air, cajoling and sinuous, sliding over her skin like the touch of moonlight. Calling. She could hear the little bells clacking as more dancers poured out of the doorway, in layers of green, blue, and purple edged with black and silver, with feathers and scales decorating them, and vivid tattoos painted across their skin. They blocked the doorway as they twirled, a riot of color that dipped and swayed in utterly graceful tandem. _And she wanted to see, to hear it, to feel it_.

She swung her leg over, intending to get down, and realized the clearing was so thick with the press of bodies now that she couldn't. But she could. Hands reached up, understanding, caught her arms and legs, lifted her down gently from Torum and spun her around while she laughed delightedly. She was spun through the clearing from one set of hands to the next, her feet following the rhythm, catching flashes of tricolored eyes, bright smiles, flowing curves, roped muscles, fur, feathers, silk, and satin. The UnSeelie helped her through until her feet touched the first step up into the entryway, and the music that had been singing louder, faster, more frantic to a crescendo that would surely make her heart burst out of her chest continued to a fever pitch as the swirling dancers split around her and disappeared out into the mass behind her. As the last two passed her, leaving the entrance empty, the drums pounded, someone grabbed her arm, turned her, and she was looking up at Tristan's worried, half panicked, flushed face. Then the music hit a last note and ended into a deafening silence. Tristan's eyes went wide and he let go, dropped down to kneel, and as she glanced back, she saw the entire crowd had dropped on the last beat, swirling down into graceful, bejeweled spots of color with bowed heads onto their knees. Even the guards had, who were only a few steps behind Tristan.

It crawled up her spine, whispered over her nerves, and she noticed that Tristan had not set foot on the steps, but she stood on the first wide slab of black marble. She continued to turn, breath catching, eyes impossibly wide as her heart stopped. Three steps away he stood, tall, imposing, and so familiar. Skin crafted from moonlight, lean and muscled, tall as he stood proud and virile, in his prime, power seeping from his very skin into the air around him. His cape was black silk, like his robes had been before, highlighted with runes, small designs of moons, leaves, fruit, animals. His hair, dark as the raven sitting haughtily upon his shoulder, lifted in the breeze and slithered over the silk like spiderwebs, tangled around the obsidian crown that looked like the branches of trees entwined, embedded with rubies and diamonds. He was shirtless under the cape, the muscles defined across his torso by layers of painted tattoos like the other Sidhe wore, rippling with a life of their own as he stepped forward. It was like watching a wolf, a great predator stalking forward, lithe and graceful, but so very lethal. Low on his hips shifted a belt that looked to be made of silver scales, glimmering in the torchlight around them, clinking as he moved, settled over a black kilt edged in silver.

Glimmering silver,copper, and gold tricolored eyes focused on her, that full mouth tilted up in a highly amused, dangerous smile, and ever so slightly he inclined his head to her. The only figure standing in the entire clearing, staring at the High King in awestruck silence, hand over the base of her throat. He lifted out his hands, and aimed one at her as he raised his voice, dark and velvet as it rumbled out of his chest. She put one foot up on the next step involuntarily, and his smile widened, eyes flashing.

"Greetings to my dearest nephew Tristan, the High Prince of the Seelie Sidhe, as well as his entourage. You are most welcome in my home, invited for a great celebration in your honor. Please, everyone, arise!"

She heard the movement behind her, felt her face flushing as Tristan straightened beside her, and the King of the UnSeelie Sidhe smiled at her, lowering his voice to a regular tone as his eyes glimmered.

"And greetings to my nephews consort, the first human to set foot in fearie for centuries."

He held out his hand to her, and she reached forward, finished the step up so that she could reach, giving an only slightly awkward curtsy.

"Greetings, High King .. Boreas, it is a pleasure to meet you..."

Those eyes danced at her, offering a million secrets if she only asked as he swept a bow over her hand, and straightened, bringing her hand up, pulling her a bit closer as he moved forward half a step, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles that sent little electric sparks of power fluttering down her arm.

"It most certainly is, and I daresay I have been looking forward to this. Welcome to my kingdom."

She blushed at his action, then laughed at his words. She liked him already.

Beside her, Tristan cleared his throat pointedly, settling his arm around her back and on her hip. She sent him a bright smile, and they both turned back as the King spun around, backing up a few steps, and threw up both his arms.

"Let the the celebration begin! Come in, come in!"

The music started back up, around them the Sidhe burst into movement again and began milling back inside as the King grinned widely. It was just so rocky horror picture show that she couldn't hold in the laugh. She turned to Tristan again as he spoke.

"Do not tell me you like that rogue."

She beamed at him, laying a soothing hand on his chest, which he brought his free hand up to grab, giving her back a fondly exasperated smile.

"I like him."

 

They were being shown to their rooms amidst the same flurry of activity, but it was a male and female to each of the guards, and the King walking between her and Tristan. He'd offered her his arm, and then fallen back, seemingly oblivious to Tristan's huff as he moved over to allow the King to stride between them and lead the way. But he put her hand in the crook of his arm as Tristan practically pouted, then turned to her and winked.

Oh yeah, the scoundrel was most certainly aware of what he was doing.

It made her grin and laugh, and he ate it up with a smile. There was a few moments of silence between them, only the distant sound of the music playing, and suddenly she jerked to a stop and whirled around, dropping the King's arm to turn back the way they had came with wide eyes, looking at the entrance that she could still just barely see.

"Torum!!"

"What?" The King frowned in confusion, and Tristan bolted forward and grabbed her arm before she could go more than a step forward. She looked at him and tugged once, pointing towards the entrance.

"But Torum! He's never going to forgive me for leaving him out there and-"

"Flower, they are perfectly fine, my Uncle's stable boys came and took all of the horses round to the stables already."

The king's eyebrows raised as he finally understood. "You mean your horse? You were worried for the animals feelings?"

She looked at him with a frown, which made Tristan grin and the guards hide a snicker.

"Of course I was! Wouldn't you be mad if your friend just suddenly left you outside? I'll have to apologize to him later... even if he is being taken care of."

Boreas stared at her another moment in surprise, and she realized she had just kind of snapped at the King. Then he suddenly threw back his head and laughed, holding out his hand for her again with a bright smile.

"Come, come. I give you my word that the horses are being well taken care of. What an absolute delight, she was worried about the horses! Tristan, is she always like this?"

Tristan's smile was proud as he winked at her and looked back at his uncle with a nod, and she stepped forward, resuming her earlier position at his side.

"Yes Uncle. _Every single day_."

She leaned around to stick her tongue out at him for his exasperated tone, to which Tristan and Boreas laughed again. The king turned back to her as they continued walking once more.

"So one of your, 'special powers' was with the animals, wasn't it?"

She nodded, beaming proudly at him, and he chuckled, patting her hand.

"Wonderful. There are many strange creatures for you to find here at our court and have fun seeing. Perhaps you may even speak with some of them!"

He threw back his head and laughed at his joke, and while she laughed a little she looked around and thought to herself; _you'd be surprised_.

She made a comment about how beautiful his castle was, how she loved the designs and decorations, and his tricolored eyes lit up. He made a vague comment, one that seemed like he knew a great deal about the designs but didn't want to go on too much. She responded with one of her own, prompting him to talk, knowing about some of the runes here and there. He brightened like a kid on christmas morning and from there dropped her arm so that he could make all these wide grand gestures while he spoke animatedly about the designs and architecture put into the building. She thought it wonderfully adorable that he found such an interest in something like that and listened intently, mostly smiling and nodding as he explained. Tristan sent her a look, and she realized he was a bit surprised that she had gotten the King to talk so freely. It hadn't been that hard.

When they reached the rooms that would be theirs the King laughed and shook his head.

"Look at this, I have talked about nothing this entire time, and now here we are."

She shook her head. "It was something, and I enjoyed hearing it or I wouldn't have asked about it."

He sent her a small smile, one she thought held a hint of thanks, before he turned with a flourish and swept open the big double doors. Inside was a large main room, what she would call a living room of sorts, with plush chairs and couches, and at the far side another door that she could see through which led outside. There were six other doorways, and Boreas waved a hand towards them.

"There are five bedrooms, two of which have extra, smaller rooms attached inside through another door, and the other are the washing rooms. It is large enough for perhaps three of you at a time. I do hope this will be satisfactory..?"

Tristan turned and smiled at his uncle, nodding as he looked back and around.

"Of course! We will decide upon sleeping arrangements later, it is of no great import. Thank you Uncle Borrum."

The King inclined his head and backed up a few steps to the doorway, letting them walk inside as he put his hand on the door.

"Of course. I shall leave you to get settled and washed up. The feast begins in an hour, but if you are ready you are more than welcome to make your way to the main hall before then. I shall leave a steward nearby if case you have need of anything."

Tristan nodded, and Aurora smiled at the King as he paused in closing the door to look at her, face falling into serious, pensive lines.

"Also... in answer to your earlier question, if my 'friends' were to leave me outside by myself to run off... I would throw them in the dungeons. But then, that is perhaps why I do not have any friends."

Tristan barked out a nervous laugh behind her, waving his hand airily.

"Ah Uncle, you have always had such an unusual sense of humour. As if you do not have friends."

The King halfway smiled, but as Tristan turned away, those metallic eyes fell back on her, and she saw something flickering there that made her chest tight right before he closed the door with a soft click.

No, she thought, for once Tristan was wrong. Nobody with eyes that lonely could have real friends. Those were the eyes of someone who put on a show for others, and maybe that of a lone wolf in a crowd of sheep.

 

 

The guys made quick work of setting out room arrangements, each of them getting their own room, and Aurora taking the room in the middle of all of them, with Sine then Wraith on one side, and Tristan and Stratos the next two. Tristan said Belle could have the room attached to Aurora's.

Since Belle had needed to stay and finish her duties for the day, she had said she would catch up with them tonight. She had been elected to come along and be Aurora's 'handmaiden' or some shit. Aurora had balked, but Tristan had said it was just like at home, nothing more. Just there to help when needed, and she knew the way around the palace. Belle showed up five minutes after they had settled on the rooms, with three stewards in tow that held their saddlebags from the horses which had all their clothing and such inside. Aurora had to hug her and tell her all about the whirlwind that had welcomed them as they had arrived. She drug Belle to her room so they could change, and the maid used the spell Marcellus had taught her to unpack everyone's things. Seriously nifty spell, that.

Clothes were dancing through the air and settling into the wardrobe, hanging and folding, and Aurora was pacing, so excited she couldn't sit still as she rattled off every detail she could think of to tell the maid. Belle seemed highly amused by all of it, but listened intently. She only interrupted a time or two to ask after one detail or another about what to wear for the night, and finally she managed to pull Aurora's attention back to the matter at hand.

"On my god, I have to get ready!! Damnit Belle why didn't you tell me?"

"I just did my lady."

"............"

"...?"

"Goddamnit Belle."

" _?!?_ "

Belle continued to look at her in surprise until she burst into laughter, and finally they started in a flurry of movement to pick out what she thought she wanted to wear. She changed her mind on the dress seven times, the shoes twice, and they were both having a laughing fit amidst the entirety of it.

She was pretty damned glad that Belle had come now.

The dress she decided on was beautiful, one she'd kind of forgotten was in the depths of her closet. She twirled as she looked over it in the mirror, and laughed out loud, looking at Belle and getting a bright smile.

"You look gorgeous my lady."

"Thank you Belle! I love this thing! And hey, don't start that my lady stuff again, at least not when its us. I don't want you in trouble out there, but otherwise, you know my name."

The maid blushed lightly but looked pleased as she nodded, walking over to settle the ribbons at her back for her. The dress itself was black, sleeveless, and fitted across the top with a scooped neck, although nothing particularly low. Pfft, yeah right, it laced up the back, like most of them did, and the bottom was another wide, flowing skirt. It was like they made all their dressed with friggin corsets and the wide skirts made for dancing, but she liked them. At least they weren't all those puke inspiring 'princess' gowns. She'd seen some of them in the courts, but she wouldn't have one. Nope!

The skirt of this one though, was aweeeeeeesome. The front was shorter than the back, almost to her knees, and it faded from the soft black of the top to emerald green, then sapphire blue, to vibrant purple, and then to silver. And at the first brush of color it started a layer of metallic material that looked like scales. It matched the other smaller scatterings of the same scales, which decorated the neckline and down the front of the dress in a slight vee, and over her shoulders. The silver band around her arm gleamed, and while her sandals, simple strappy things with a slight heel, were mostly black, Belle had switched out the black ribbons that wound around her ankles to some that matched the colors on the dress. Belle even managed to get her normally straight hair to fall in some soft curls, and by the time they were done she was so excited she couldn't stand still. Her moving was making the dress move though, and she halfway laughed at the tinkling sound coming from the scales as they clicked against each other. How odd!

She still hesitated before they left her room, turning back to look at the maid with a bit of uncertainty.

"Are you sure its not too much Belle? I don't want to look... garish or anything."

Belle shook her head adamantly, and smiled, utterly confident.

"Trust me, I know what the court looks like. You will fit right in, and stand out as well. But it is a good thing. Now, I must change as well, perhaps you could go ask the others what they think, to settle your mind. I am sure they are ready by now."

Aurora flushed and nodded sheepishly, watching as Belle headed off to her own room and closed the door. She crossed to the big window at the far wall to look outside, see all the torches and magic lights flickering outside, the gardens and forest beyond bathed in shadow. _It was beautiful here...._.

_Enough, stop stalling_!

She turned and marched over to the door to the main room, and took a deep breath before flinging it open.

Then she turned and closed it behind her carefully, before spinning to take in the silence behind her. Oh. She'd thought-

One door opened to the empty room, making her jump, causing the skirt to emit a pattering of music, and Wraith jerked his head up as he closed his door behind him and froze. They stared at each other a moment as his eyes widened, and she flushed, looking down and lifting one edge of the skirt.

"So.. uhm... too much?"  
 

 

She finally looked back up, and Wraith was moving across the room, walking towards her. She went still and watched him curiously, wondering as he reached out and tentatively pinched the edge of the skirt with his hand below where she had it and ran his thumb across one glittering blue scale. He started to smile and dropped it, shaking his head as he stepped back and her shoulders dropped with relief.

"No, it is stunning. I was surprised, that is all. I knew Marcellus had been working on one of his unusual creations, and muttering about dragons, so this must be the Dragon Dress he was talking about."

He caught her eye and grinned, making her smile.

"Thank you... so this is unusual? I mean... with what we saw earlier..."

Wraith laughed. "Oh no, not here. And it is only unusual for Marcellus to put so much into one thing. I mean, all of those dragon scales must have taken him forever to-"

" _Dragon Scales?!?_ ” She shrieked, and Wraith flinched, looking at her in wide eyed confusion as she lifted the skirt with both hands and stared at it in horror. Three other doors jerked open to show a startled Stratos, Tristan, and Sine as they came out to investigate, all apparently ready.

"Flower what is-"

" ** _I'M WEARING DRAGON SCALES?!?!_** '

They all flinched and Wraith stumbled back, looking to Tristan and the others for help. She jerked at the material and raised it in her fist, shaking it at the Prince who continued to look at her in confused shock.

" _WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS WERE YOU THINKING LETTING MARCELLUS MAKE A DRESS OUT OF-_ "

"They are not real dragon scales my lady."

They all whirled at Sine's calm voice, and she froze, staring at him in silent horror. Tristan, Wraith, and Stratos burst out laughing before the prince came over and took her trembling fist in his hands.

"Did you think they were real flower?"

She nodded mutely, swallowing past the lump in her throat and breathing again. She wasn't exactly a PETA member, but it was a DRAGON for shits sake! God if she'd been wearing a dragon-

"Oh dearest no, no one can get so close to a dragon to take its scales! The very idea is ludicrous. Have you ever seen a dragon?"

"I... well, no... drawings and things, but they... aren't around back at home. There aren't any..."

That she was aware of, anyway.

He went wide eyed, and Wraith stepped up beside him, grinning.

"Must be fun!"

She frowned at him. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Those creatures start out as wee little beasties, but the grown ones can be larger than this castle. They keep to themselves although you will see one in the deep woods sometimes. They tend to stay away from the Sidhe, although I have heard they are much more common here in the UnSeelie kingdom, like they have an uneasy peaceful treaty of sorts with them. Do not attack us, we will not attack you."

"For tiny humans are crunchy and good with ketchup."

They all stared at her and she winced, shaking her head.

"Nevermind, bad joke. So, dragons talk? Are there no Sidhe that like... I dunno, have a link with dragons like the other animals?"

Stratos stepped up as they all shared a look, thinking, and he answered.

"There are stories that they do, but they choose not too. There use to be more of an alliance, but something happened ages ago. There are some animal clans, like the Fera Clan, who tend to be around and with the wilder animals, and some have spoken of dragons. They seem to not be too overly friendly though."

She stared at all of them and huffed.

"Are you sure you are not simply shooting- I uh, I mean, slashing first, asking questions later? As in starting fights where there shouldn't be any?"

They all shrugged, and she just rolled her eyes. Ugh.

She wanted to see one. _Dragons!!!!!_

"Wait." Sine spoke up, and they turned, looking at him curiously.

"What made you say links with animals? Most regular animals do not speak."

They glanced at her and she flushed red, twisting her hands together and smiling sheepishly.

"Oh..uhm... well yeah about that...."

All four of them turned back to her and frowned severely, crossing their arms and waiting. She winced. Damnit.

"Well see.. I kinda forgot with everything happening.. but I was gonna ask! See uhm, Torum has been kind of... communicating with me and-"

" _Communicating?!_ "

"How?!"

"Well its not like... like words or anything! Its like... emotions? Feelings... and like, pictures or memories? Like, he knows what some words are...? Like - like yeah! If you say his brothers name he thinks of him, and he'll look for him! Or any of our names, he knows us, and home, the stables, things like that... its like he understands what I say, but he just responds how he can..?"

She held her palms up sheepishly, and Tristan reached up to rub the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

"Iridius did say she would have the affinity for animal and nature..."

Tristan sent Stratos a dirty look for that comment, and the guard snapped his jaw shut. The prince turned back to her and gestured.

"When did this start?"

"....today...?"

" _Right..._. And is it only Torum?"

"Him the most... he's the only one I talked to but I got a little from the other horses.. I've kind of thought before now that I've picked up some things from the animals but.. this was all clear as day."

"I believe such a thing depends upon the level of intelligence in the animal."

Tristan frowned even harder at Wraiths 'helpful' comment, and he looked away, adopting an innocent face. She was fighting so hard not to laugh.

"We will speak to Iridius of this... later. We must go to the feast right now. But next time flower, please, _please_ come to one of us when you have one of these... 'new powers' show up, okay?"

She nodded, and he sighed, holding out his hand for hers. She took his and he brought it up, kissing the back of her hand, and straightened up to smile at her, eyes dancing impishly.

"I must say, you are quite breathtaking to be wearing the skin of a dragon."

" _TRISTAN!!!_ "

The guards roared with laughter as the Prince winked at her.

Damned blue fairy.

 

 

So she'd been worried, but the feast hall of the UnSeelie was literally that, a long dining hall with several great tables, the Kings on a raised dias higher than the rest, them as his 'honored guests' settled on either side of him. She was more than a little nervous that he'd put her on his left, and Tristan on his right; just because she could go off some old stories about Seelie court etiquette and politics and all didn't mean she wanted to try it alone. With Tristan over there he couldn't lean over and tell her to shut up before she said something stupid.

Of course, he'd never told her to shut up or anything at all like that but still....

So here they sat while court servants brought out shit tons of food and loaded down all the long tables with flourishes, passing through and making sure everyone had everything they needed. She was still smiling about the King's reaction to her dress though. He had been completely amazed and she'd had to spin around several times and show it to him. He'd been waxing poetic about it since then, and she was happy, she loved this dress. Borrum, or Boreas as he'd reminded her to call him, was still dressed the same, but he'd dropped the cape at some point over his chair, claiming it too warm for so much pomp.

This place was so very strange, and she really loved it. It seemed much more relaxed than the Seelie court as well...

She watched some of the servants, and wondered at them. Of course, there were several very much Seelie looking Sidhe here, besides them, but the rest were...

Awesome.

They were obviously of mixed blood, as the Seelie said, but they were cool. This place just didn't seem like the home of darkness and despair, of mutated, half blood freaks. Of muggles. She smiled at herself and turned to Boreas curiously, reaching up to lightly touch his arm for his attention. He instantly swung around to see her with a smile, eyebrows raising. She had to take a moment every time he looked at her, just because it made her heart skip a beat to see him like this in person. He was basically one of the old gods back at home in the mythology she studied so much, and in fact was more throughout history, different things through different cultures and places. He wasn't a god, but he was the UnSeelie king, and she was a bit star struck like she had been with Tristan at first. She was hoping she would get over it some like she had with him.

"I was wondering.. well, I've seen painting of many things in my world, but none of this exists there, y'know? And... I mean... I was just.."

She blew out a frustrated breath and he smiled, patting her hand reassuringly. One of the servants was moving closer, several trays levitating around her head while she passed through the milling sidhe with no trouble at all. She was beautiful, and obviously half brownie. Or at least, that's what Aurora was wondering. She'd never seen a brownie. This woman had all the same features as a Sidhe, with long bright gold spiral curls and the stature of one, but her skin was a dark cream color, and covered in a light layer of even darker brown fur. And she had the nose, or the lack of one, where she only had the two holes there in her face. It was a little odd to look at, but she was very pretty.

"It is alright, just ask what you want to know."

She tore her gaze back to Boreas and swallowed.

"Well, I've never seen a.. Brownie before, and I was wondering if that was what some of them were, or half maybe."

His eyes widened just a touch and she thought oh no, but then he smiled widely and nodded.

"I am not surprised you have not seen many of the other fey, my sisters' court seems to think that by being around the lesser fey their very blood will become tainted by it."

He rolled his eyes, looking so fed up with his sister that she burst into laughter, and he smiled. It made her miss her sister again, but she pushed it down, hid it deep, and told herself she would deal with it alone in her room later, she could cry all she wanted to, but not right now. She jerked back to herself as he turned and gestured at the woman she'd been looking at a moment ago.

"Come here a moment, let her see you. She has not seen a brownie before."

The woman looked a bit terrified, and some of the chatter around them quieted some as people turned their attention around to see. Aurora shifted uncomfortably, shaking her head as the woman stepped up to stand across the table from them. All the other tables had people sitting on both sides, but theirs was one sided so that they could see everything. That's what Boreas had said.

"No, no its okay, I mean, I was just.. curious."

The six platters she had floated back to stop in the air behind her, out of the way as she lowered her head, curtsied once, and then clasped her hands together in front of her and waited. Aurora frowned.

"That whole communing with the rugs thing is really stupid. Would you look at me, please?"

She didn't want to examine her like a freakshow, but she wanted to at least say hi or something. To her face. The king brayed out a laugh at her comment about the rugs, and the servant flinched at the sound. What was up with that? But as Aurora's question sank in, she jerked her head up, in surprise, staring wide eyed at her as if she'd spouted another head. Well she'd done some weird shit but that wasn't on the list so far.

When the woman focused on her though, something clicked in her head. Her eyes were metallic, a blue green, and slitted like a cats.

"You're Tamra aren't you?"

The servant jerked, looking almost panicked, and the chatter faded almost completely away. Aurora glanced around curiously, then back and to the King.

"What?"

Boreas shrugged and gestured for her to continue, obviously wanting to see where she was going with this on her own, and she sent the others a frown, then looked back and smiled brightly at the woman. She seemed to not know whether she should run or scream.

"Right? You're Belle's sister, Tamra, aren't you?"

The woman looked even more surprised, but nodded once, a jerky motion, raising one hand to touch the base of her throat. Maybe she was just nervous because Aurora was a human? Or from the Seelie court? Of course! Maybe they thought she acted like that one 'Seelie noble' asshole she'd gotten into the fight with.

"Its okay, really, I was just curious. She's told me a lot about you -"

This made her whip her head around and catch her sisters gaze, who sat at one of the lower tables, looking utterly unconcerned. At least someone here knew she wasn't about to smite or spit on the woman.

"-it was all good I promise, she looks up to you."

Tamra jerked back around, and was, very slowly, losing the edge of tension that had been singing under her skin.

"I recognized you, after you looked at me. You have the same eyes, and you favor each other. I look a bit like my older sister

too.. but she has this beautiful red hair, and she's paler than me, with lots of freckles."

Tamra's eyes softened, and she actually seemed like she might smile.

"S-she sounds wonderful my lady.."

Aurora could feel the tears at the back of her throat, but she pushed them back, knew that Tristan and the others were watching her. She didn't talk about her home much, about her family.

"She is. Anyway, you are every bit as pretty as Belle said you were."

Tamra looked stunned, and Aurora knew she wasn't imagining the silence around her now. But she refused to acknowledge it. If they didn't like her opinion on the matter, they could kiss her lily white ass and go back to paying attention to their own damned conversations instead of hers.

"B-but I am half brownie my lady-"

"So?"

Tamra fell silent, and lifted one hand in a helpless gesture, unsure what to say. Aurora just tried to smile at her reassuringly.

"I meant it. I don't think it matters which half you are more of, you're still pretty. But I won't.. keep you any longer, I don't want your boss getting mad at you for being up here so long. I've gotten people almost in trouble for that kind of thing already."

Aurora smiled sheepishly, and finally Tamra halfway smiled, then curtsied to her quickly.

"Thank you my lady."

She straightened and waited, and Aurora turned to see the King as he made a gesture. Oh. She'd been waiting on a by your leave from him. He had his chin propped in his hand, practically slouched in his chair, and his eyes were flickering. She couldn't begin to name the things she saw in those eyes.

"You did not have to lie to her to be polite."

Tamra was still close enough that she heard, and she flinched, setting down plates hurriedly and moving down the line.

Aurora's spine stiffened like a steel bar as she lifted her chin three inches into the air and glared hotly at the King. She'd be _damned_.

"I will thank you very much that I did not lie to her at all."

Quiet fell around them again, and Boreas's eyes flashed with challenge. Was he purposely baiting her? He'd seemed proud of his people, she didn't think he shared the same thoughts as the Seelie about-

_Oh_.

"You told her she was pretty."

His voice was low, but she knew it carried. She understood now. Or thought so anyway. He was testing her, here in front of everyone. She relaxed her shoulders minutely and and leveled a look at him, sniffing disdainfully.

"I think she is."

"You do not think she is a filthy, abhorrent, half breed?"

Anger sparked through her, and her voice came out with an edge even with her understanding.

" _No I do not._ I think she is an obviously capable person, a good, caring, older sister, and very pretty."

He stared at her a moment, and his lips curled into a proud smile before he threw back his head and laughed. It poured into the silence like rocks in an empty pale, and then he dropped his hand on her shoulder.

"I knew I liked you Aurora. Listen to you! Surely you are giving every Seelie sidhe at the other court fits! Delicious. Speaking of, let's have our second course!"

He clapped his hands while she stared at him in surprise, and just like that everything went back to normal as if nothing had ever happened. Yeah.... not weird or anything.

 

 

She would admit though, she was certainly impressed by the UnSeelie court, if a bit baffled by it sometimes. It seemed like it was so much fun, so very different from the Seelie's, and yet...

The peoples reactions to their king confused her.

She closed the door to her bedroom and leaned against it with a puff of breath, crossing her arms and frowning at the far window while she thought, leaving the room only dimly illuminated by the lights outside.

The people did everything he said, seemed to smile, dance, have fun, be less stiff and formal, _and yet_...

Addressing the King himself was almost like they were trying to sweet talk a cobra into not biting them. But why? He seemed so nice, so laid back, so.. fun? She'd seen madness in peoples eyes, the light of fanaticism, the feeling when you could tell someone wasn't quite right like too many hits on the head, or even when someone looked at you and you just _knew_ something was inherently _wrong_ with that person. Like, Texas chainsaw massacre wrong.

All she got from the King was someone of power, that liked having fun and was maybe a bit eccentric, at least compared to the other sidhe, and someone lonely. He may be a bit... rough around the edges? Maybe he could just flip that coin like she'd seen Tristan and Stratos do. How they went from the easygoing, laughing, relaxed guys they were around her, to the Royal Prince and his Captain of the Guard, or some of the most dangerous warriors she'd ever seen. Perhaps that was the difference, maybe the people had seen him flip sides, and feared the other side. But they were still two sides of the same coin, so what could be so bad?

She shook her head and pushed off from the door, walking across her room.

"Forget it. I'll either find out first hand or .. something..."

She folded the windows aside to open them and sat on the window seat, curling her legs underneath her, running her hand over the scales on the dress. They made music of their own, and it made hers sound different, as if it had to filter through the scales to play. It was weird, but still pretty.

She was kind of disappointed though...

She was back in her room because after the feast, the King had said because of their long journey and her miraculous helping with the pregnant Sidhe woman, which had surprised the hell out of her and Tristan that he knew somehow, that the celebrations would be continuing for days, but for tonight the feast was all that was planned. Everyone had split up, and she had returned to her room as had Tristan and the guards. At least the guys were more relaxed because they weren't worried much here with the other guards and didn't have to stand watch over her and Tristan. In fact, Wraith, Stratos, and Sine had all seemed excited to see their buddies earlier.

So how, after that super great entrance, and then the feast, was she expected to just return to her room and sleep? Were they crazy?! Obviously.

She pushed to her feet and stripped out of the dress and all the crap with it, then grabbed a regular dress. It was a pale honey gold color, soft and wispy, with ruffled layers around the skirt and simple straps for sleeves. No gloves, no shoes or hose or any of that shit. She ran a brush through her hair, let it tumble loosely, and sighed in relief.

Yeah, much better.

She returned to the window for the fresh air, mind worrying itself into knots because she was just BORED. She dropped into the seat and swung her legs out and over the sill, kicking her feet back and forth as she gazed up at the stars. A warm breeze came up, slithered around her with the scents of food, incense, and a bonfire. She stopped and looked out into the forest towards the glow, the one she had noticed earlier and not paid much attention to. It came from farther down the palace, and out into the woods. There was a brighter glow now, and several flickering lights out there, a burst of sparks whirling up into the sky occasionally from the center. It had to be a bonfire.

She bit her lip, practically whining to go check it out. She could just barely hear a violin, a flute, and a drum beat every now and then over the wind.

_UGH IT COULDN'T EVEN BE MIDNIGHT YET WHY WAS SHE SITTING HERE_ -

Who's that?!

She leaned out over the sill, clutching the edge tightly, narrowing her gaze on the opened archway just a couple yards down from her window. She'd noticed it when they went towards the great hall earlier, but only briefly. It just went outside, like the rest. But it emptied onto the pathway that went under her window.

She heard a scuff of shoe on the stone, and someone leapt off the top step of the archway. She gaped as they hit the ground and spun gracefully, kicking up a flurry of dust from their boots as they faced the other two figures who stepped down, rumbling deep laughs. That form was familiar, the laughs-

"Look at you, we are not even there yet and you are-"

"DYING to get there and have some fun! How long has it been since you attended a real party brother?"

"Now, now, we attend the gatherings at the Seelie court all the time."

Two turned towards the slightly smaller figure, and then they all burst out laughing.

"Let us go! I think I can beat that new Captain with one arm!"

"Come now, what of dancing? With you and your moves the women will be beside themselves if you do not pay them any attention!"

There was more laughter as she stared, intrigued, wondering.

"I can do that afterwards! I have been itching for a good fight,"

"Yes! A good brawl and a good party!"

"And a good tumble in the hay."

"Bah I knew it!"

"You will do it too!"

"But I do not have a reputation for as many as you, nor as many at one time!"

"He has you there captain."

"Now brother, I am sure we can remedy that tonight!"

They were walking away, towards the bonfire, the music, and she knew good and well that was Stratos, Wraith, and Sine. Stratos often called Wraith 'brother' when he'd been drinking. They'd been friends a long, long time.

But those tomcats were going to a party, a real one, and she was suppose to sit here? In the dark? Alone?

_Pfffffft_!

She shimmied around, took a deep breath, and leapt the five feet down to the ground below, rolling as she hit. She came up on her bare feet, dusted off her dress, and took off after the guys on silent feet. She lost sight of them as they rounded a bend farther down and huffed, racing to catch up. She wanted to go in with-

_Hey!_ Where'd they go? The path sprawled before her in the moonlight, empty. Trees shuddering in the breeze, and she could hear the music now. It made her heart beat faster, as she froze, dress whirling around her legs, and looked around into the depths of the trees around her. She took a breath and practically hissed.

"Guys! Stratos! Wraith!? ....Sine? Aww come on I wanna go too! M'not a baby I don't wanna go to bed and sit there all night lemme go with you guys!"

She was met with silence and she stomped her foot, crossing her arms and pouting. Damnit what if they'd just went on? How was she suppose to get back in that damned window and-

"... _You want to go to a servants party with us?_ "

She squeaked and whirled as Stratos suddenly spoke from behind her. He was grinning as she stumbled backwards, and she hit something solid that caught her arms and kept her from falling. She looked up at the voice behind her that rumbled at her with laughter.

"It is a bit... different."

She jerked away from Wraith, cheeks burning, and sniffed at both of them.

"You'd be surprised at the parties I've attended boys. I'm quite positive this one is going to be a hell of lot more fun than that other crap we've attended so far."

The two guards glanced over at Sine as he emerged from the woods. He just shrugged, face set into pensive lines.

"I do not know... are you sure this would be your kind of thing my lady?"

They all chuckled, and she glared at them. Then Stratos shared a look over her head with Wraith, and she met his gaze as he looked back down at her, eyes lidded and flickering as he started to smile. She glanced back a little uneasily at Wraith as they folded their arms behind their backs and gave her the same smile, the one edged with something a bit dark, more dangerous. In perfect sync they moved then, pacing around her, watching her, slow steps that were graceful, lethal, dangerous.  
She watched them a little uneasily, wondering what the hell they were doing as she twisted to watch both of them, heart pounding against her ribs.

"Come now Princess, do you even know how to dance?"

"As in, really dance?"

"To have fun with the likes of us?"

She wondered what she was thinking, following these three out into the night, when they were the ones supposed to be watching her, when there was no one else to notice her missing until morning, these three enormously powerful warriors she'd known a handful of months that she just trusted this much? Did she?

_Well, yeah_.

So she nodded at Stratos, and that light of challenge flared with a spark of pride in his tricolored eyes as he reached out. She grabbed the offered hand, eyebrow lifting, and then she was spinning. She stopped at the end of her arm, looked up to see him bright eyed and grinning, before he swung her back in and around to the beat of the music she could barely hear. He caught her arm and they spun around before he passed her off to Wraith. The other guard grabbed her hips and lifted her up, spun her around, and she threw back her head, laughing breathlessly, already dizzy. But he sat her on the ground and twirled her back to Stratos who caught her, held her out, and as he paused she lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands and kicked out her feet, back and forth to an old Irish folksong in her head. Stratos whistled low, impressed, and then copied her. They both spun once, stomping a foot as they stopped, facing each other, grinning from ear to ear.

They paused and Stratos boomed out a merry laugh as he wrapped his arm and her shoulders and pulled her against his side. The other two fell into step around them, laughing with him as she beamed proudly.

"Alright, alright! I can see we underestimated you! But you are going to have to do that again after we get there. We have to show off the first human at a servants party at the Unseelie court in... ever!"

She wrapped her arm around his waist and around Wraiths on her other side, laughing as excitement bubbled up.

"Let's go!"

If they thought that was cool, wait until they saw her belly dancing. Ha!

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

 

_/Chiiiiiiirrup!/_

Aurora jerked, snapping open her eyes at the unfamiliar sound that pierced her skull like little knives. Sunlight blasted her poor, gritty, aching eyeballs and she groaned, flailing to jerk the pillow back over her head and jam her eggshell feeling head underneath it to the blessed darkness.

_What in the seven hells had happened?!_

_Christ what mammoth had run over her?!_

Her head was pounding, her throat was raw, he muscles were sore like _everywhere_ , and she still tasted honey and something so sweet on her tongue that -

Oh. 

_Oh shit._

She remembered....sort of.

 

She'd been dancing with Stratos and Wraith, in a smiling, swirling, barrage of colors, amidst the laughter and cheers of the UnSeelie as the guards had lifted her up and swung her around to the music. At first the crowd had been hesitant, but then they had welcomed her with open arms upon seeing she was truly serious about joining the entertainment. 

She didn't know how long they'd danced and sang and spun, but she was getting tired. 

Stratos sauntered up with a cheeky smile and a laughing Wraith, both flushed and grinning, and he offered her a horn. She plucked it from his hands hesitantly, looking down into a literal damned curved horn holding sparkling, thick, gold, slightly frothy liquid.

"Whas'it?"

He shared an amused look with Wraith and nodded, gesturing at her.

"Come princess, try it! It is delicious! And it will give you some more... energy."

She narrowed her gaze a bit suspiciously, then looked down at the stuff, sniffing of it experimentally. The two guards snorted, and they mirrored each other by crossing their arms over their bare chest, she wasn't sure when that had happened, and raising their eyebrows at her, challenging her. Her lips thinned and she lifted her chin, looked down at the stuff once again, and squared her shoulders.

She was the one who had climbed out of her window and chased them down so she could come play with the big boys, she couldn't back down now.

So she took a deep breath, put it to her lips, and threw her head back.

She drained the whole damned thing, and then came up sputtering and hissing. The guards looked stunned, before they reached forward and took the horn, slapping her on the back and sending her teeth clapping together with the force of it as they caught her.

"By the divine princess, I meant only to try it!"

She stammered, eyes watering, and laughed as she finally gasped in a clear breath. 

"Tha'shits awesome!"

And it was; it was like honey, cold and sweet with a hint of some exotic fruit she'd never tasted. They stared at her for a moment as she giggled, hiccupped, and clapped a hand over her mouth wide eyed at the sound. She did it again and flushed, and then bounced in place, shimmied, and beamed at them happily.

"Can I have some more?"

They stared at her incredulously, then roared with laughter as Stratos dropped an arm over her shoulders and the moved them towards the dance floor.

"Not too much at once princess, but yes we will get you some more. Come dance!"

 

_/Chirrrrrrrup! ..........Chirrup?/_

She twitched at the noise, hearing something clicking across wood like little nails. 

That was the noise that had woken her. 

She squinted her eyes and lifted the edge of the pillow, staring into the strip of sunlight until it narrowed into one instead of three. It was still fuzzy looking, but she could focus. So she carefully, slowly, moved the pillow a little a time to reveal her head, taking a deep breath of clear air and sighing.

Holy fuck.

_/Chirrup! Chirrupchirrup chirpchirp!/_

She went wide eyed and bolted up onto her hands and knees to swing around and look, and nearly slid off the edge of the bed as the world continued turning ahead of her. She hissed and backpedaled, going still as all four limbs hit solid mattress and wobbling until the world righted again. Ohhhhh trippy no good uh uh.

_/....chirip?/_

She finally looked around, much slower and more carefully this time. But she didn't see anything. What the hell was making that noise? Oh, duh! She caught the note of her own magic and tried to crack it open just a little, only a damned little, to hear. What she heard had her freezing in place, wide eyed and surprised as she rotated back toward the windowsill. She could hear the soft tinkling of music, so very unusual, such an odd hum of notes, like a short tune, one that sounded oddly familiar. It changed into a higher pitch as she found the source, eyes locking together, her jaw falling open.

"Holy shit..."

There was a blast of excitement and energy from the little thing as it chirped and purred, wiggling from head to toe as she spoke to it. Its tail flicked back as forth as it kneaded its claws into the wood on her windowsill and flared out its wings, shimmying in place with the curiosity blazing from it.

She moved forward and half slipped half slid off the bed and staggered to her feet, crossing over to the window slowly so she didn't startle it. It sat back and looked at her, pleased, almost smiling, and she finally smiled back, crouching down to see it at eye level.

"Look what a beautiful little thing you are..."

She held up her hand as it purred with a pleased chirp and spun around, then it stopped, flaring its wings to lean forward and sniff her hand experimentally. After a second it butted its head against her hand and chirped happily, and she took that as an okay sign. She scratched under its chin and it purred, stretching out in a long line and flaring its wings to balance. She huffed a laugh and caught a contented wave from it, and wondered to herself about what in the hell she was doing. 

Petting a little dragon.

She cooed at it as it continued to move around and make little chirupy noises at her, wings flapping occasionally as its tail lashed back and forth. It was gold edged with black, its scales hard in most places but soft in a few, like just under its jaw, and it literally shimmered, glittering in the sunlight. It had four legs, tipped with paws that had little black sharp looking claws, two long wings that she could almost see through, and a long tail with a spear shaped end. 

"You are so cool. Where did you come from?"

It put its paws up on her hand, stomped its feet, and looked at her, yapping, like it was trying to talk. Like it was trying to fucking TALK. She gaped at it, and it snorted a frustrated sounding breath, which sent out a little curl of smoke. Then it reached out to her, the way Torum had, and she nearly staggered backwards out of shock and surprise. She caught scenes of the trees, the palace, the bonfire from last night, all viewed from high up, all in high definition, with flashes of color here and there she was sure she couldn't see herself. Then a cave, high up on a cliff side she had seen from her window, and him flying into it.

Then nothing as it shimmied happily and chirped at her once more.

"Holy fuck!"

It had understood her! Flat out understood and answered and holy hell she was going to freak out! She had to go show Tristan! He said if anything else happened to-

"My lady Aurora?"

She shot to her feet and whirled as Belle called out to her, knocking on the door before pushing inside. She heard the dragon almost squawk, and a wild scrabble of sound. Instantly she looked back instead of answering, worried, but it was gone. What?

She was frowning, leaning over the sill to look, when Belle stepped up beside her and looked at her oddly.

"What are you looking for?"

"There was just a dragon here."

Belle went wide eyed, and then she laughed, putting her hand on her chest and tittering softly as she grabbed Aurora and started walking her back toward the bed.

"Come now my lady, a dragon? Sure it was only a little dizon, with long tail and scales. They are everywhere here. Let me help you with your head, I can fix it."

"But it wasn't it had - you can?"

She dropped onto the edge of the bed and stared up at her with a wide eyed, hopeful look.

"Wait, how do you know about-"

Belle settled her palms on either side of her temple, and gave her a chiding look.

"Come mistress, a servants party? I am one of the servants, I was there. I saw you."

She gaped at her as she heard the woman's music change a bit, begin a soothing hum that had her shoulders drooping.

"You should have come to speak to me, I didn't see you!"

Belle snickered as electric tingles slithered over her skin and into her pounding head, and she closed her eyes at the relief. 

"I did mistress. You just do not remember yet. Maybe you will later."

She flinched, cracking open one eye to look at her.

"M'sorry Belle-"

"No need to be my lady, I understand. Now, come. You need to shower and change for the day."

Aurora nodded, and with a bit of the maids help, the rest of the leftover aches and pains were completely faded by the time she was dressed and ready to go. Today she put on something simple, kind of like last night, but it was black edged in gold. Yeah, so maybe she was matching the little dizon that she'd seen earlier. Of course it had been, surely Belle was right and that was what it had been. She'd been seeing things because she had been hungover.

_Oh she was killing Stratos later so help her god_. 

Belle excused herself to run off and do her own thing a while, and Aurora promised she would go out and be sociable soon. Tristan wasn't even awake yet, Belle had said. And she had visited the other guards to help them too. She should have let Stratos suffer because she was gonna kick his-

/ _Chirrup!_ /  
She whirled around quickly to see, but the window was empty. She slumped, walking over to look, wondering if she was just crazy. Then she heard something else, a fast, rhythmic thumping, and leaned forward just in time to see the damned _DRAGON_ do a loop through the air in front of her and go spinning up with its wings out straight and come back down in a super fast corkscrew. She laughed and clapped her hands together as it came back.

"Amazing! Look at you, you're awesome!"

It preened and flapped its wings slowly, hovering in place to beam happily at her and yap a few times. She stared at it a moment as she got a ludicrous idea, then started to grin. 

"Hey you wanna go meet the prince? He's my... uhm... cooooonsort."

It cocked its head curiously, and she felt the same emotion from it, and tried to give it some sort of picture back. She thought of Tristan, of how he smiled at her and made her laugh and how nice he was with a flood of warmth, and the little dragon crowed out, flying in several wide circles as she got a resounding agreement from it. 

"You're so cute! C'mere. I'll take you in there, they'll never believe this!" 

She held out one hand, and it paused, then flapped down to land lightly in the palm of her hand. It was bigger than her hand but could sit there comfortably, wings folding in against its back, and it curled its long tail down around her wrist and arm to steady itself. She laughed as it purred and raised its head regally, looking like a little king in its own right as it yapped at her. 

"This is so cool! Okay come on! Triiiiistaaaaaan!"

She turned and bolted out of her room into the main room, laughing as the dragon wobbled and looked around as if to help her find him. She turned and raced over to his door, knocking on it quickly and calling out to him again.

"Triiistaan!"

The dragon opened its mouth and yip-yapped, mimicking her tone exactly. She gaped at it then laughed delightedly.

"Aren't you smart! He's still asleep, but we can fix that!"

She opened the door slowly, seeing the room half dark still, one window open to the day, the other covered with a thick sheet to blot out some of the light. She closed the door behind her and sprinted to the bed, feeling the dragon cling to her hand with its nails and a startled squeak. Tristan was sprawled out, twisted in the covers, moving sluggishly as he turned to blink blearily at her.

"F-flower? What-"

"Loooooook!"

She pounced onto the bed, sending the prince bouncing a time or two and flailing into an ungraceful heap. She stilled, smiling sheepishly as he flung the covers off his head and spit out his hair, shaking it out to peer at her with a narrowed gaze. 

"What by terra is so-"

She brightened at the amused, if exasperated, tone he had as he reached out and dropped his hand on her leg. Then she whipped her hand forward and stopped with the little dragon inches from his face, and it flared out its wings to keep balance. Tristans jaw dropped as he jerked back a little to focus on it, and she beamed at him.

"Say hiiii to Tristan little dragon!"

It yapped and mimicked the two tones she used to draw out the word, dipping its head and shimmying around excitedly. Tristan sputtered, and she pulled it back a little to look at him.

"What? It was on my window sill! Isn't it... cute?"

He turned a wide, horrified gaze to her and finally bellowed at her.

" _By the GODS woman take that thing back before its -_ "

He cut off as the castle shook, the ground quaked, and the air around them vibrated with a roar that made them all cringe.

Tristan jerked around to look toward the window, wide eyed, and the dragon in her palm crowed in delight. She caught the impression from it, and whispered the word in tandem with Tristan, the same time his bedroom door burst open.

" _Mother._ "

Stratos, Wraith, and Sine barreled in, weapons drawn, and stopped short at seeing them. 

"That was a dragon!"

"Prince are you alright?!"

"Aurora what-"

Tristan and the others cut off in the barrage of questions to look at her as she leapt off the bed and raced toward the door, cupping her free hand around the dragon on her palm. She could _hear_ the mother, it was this great consciousness, an ageless, ancient power that rolled off glittering scales and sharp teeth, wings that spread out and sent the castle into their shadow, a beautiful, majestic, dangerous thing. And she was calling for her baby.

_Awwww shit_.

"Aurora wait!"

"No time! Come on!"

She heard Tristan's irate shout, and then the scramble of feet as the guys moved. She burst out the doorway and was heading for the archway just down past their rooms to get outside; she needed to get the baby to its momma, right now! The slap of feet echoed behind her and the door slammed against the wall a second time, and she looked back to see a flash of grey and black.

"Wraith I have to-"

He came up beside her, grabbed her elbow, and pulled her along faster, much to her own surprise.

"I know. I am coming with you, this you will not do alone."

They stumbled down the steps and onto the dirt path from last night, pausing long enough to whip around and look. Wraith pointed behind her and she spun towards the front of the palace, wide eyed as she saw a great golden wing spread up and out, light dancing off the scales, quivering as another roar split the air. 

"She is in the front! Hurry!"

Then he was dragging her along, and as they ran she could see more and more of the gigantic dragon that crouched in the courtyard they had arrived in, the entire crowd of worried, confused UnSeelie in front of it, and one lone figure in a black robe standing in front of the pissed off mother.

The King was trying to talk to the Dragon, but he was tense as a wire, and his guard were all several steps behind him, waiting on an order. His words were soft, cajoling, but whatever he said was not what she wanted to hear. The dragon curled her lip in a snarl, then lowered her head to roar, mouth lighting with embers of fire flickering in her throat, great teeth gleaming only feet away, sending the King staggering back a step and his robes whipping in the wind. When she straightened, claws kneading the ground, growling as smoke plumed from her nose, she turned her head to glare at him with one great, blue, glittering, slitted eye.

One that Aurora could have stood beside and been roomy enough to almost straighten up.

She was as big as the front of the castle, lithe and muscled, covered in shield sized scales like diamonds. She was colored gold, brightly beautiful like a pile of treasure come to life. She had a wedged head, high ridges over her eyes littered with cream colored spikes, and long curling horns from her crown back over the sides of her head, almost ram like in stature, but so much bigger. Her wings were massive, great leathery arcs lined with muscles that rustled as she folded them against her back and straightened up regally, as if daring the king to continue.

She and Wraith were pushing through the crowd fast as they could but it was hard against the press of bodies, and none of them wanted to move. Damnit! The guards went tense at the dragons roar, and the King whirled, making a sharp slash of his hand through the air at them. They froze, and dropped back, but they were not happy about it at all. He looked once across the crowd, checking on his people, before turning back to face the dragon. Then he did a double take, twisting to stare wide eyed at her, and she hunched her shoulders as Wraith pulled her forward, giving the king a sheepish grin.

" _Whhhhhherrrrre is my haaaaatchling!?_ " 

The dragons voice was a low roar, words coming out with an unusual accent as its throat worked, teeth snapping at the air that were as big around as Aurora was. Boreas met that narrowed gaze, but understood there was some reason she was barreling towards him and a pissed off dragon. He suddenly held out his hand behind him, up and open, for her, and just like that the rest of the Sidhe whirled, saw them, and instantly parted to let them through. She rushed forward and caught his hand, wincing as his tightened around hers in a steely grip and pulled her even with him. 

"Sareindiel, I believe I have an answer for you now."

His tone was soothing, friendly, and he smiled charmingly at her while Aurora froze at his side and her heart thundered. Not only for the being in front of her, but the fact that he was holding her hand, and just trusting her not to fuck this up, that she had a reason for why she had been heading this way so quickly. _Was he INSANE_?!

The great dragon cocked her head, shuffling her wings, and refocused on Aurora, who felt awe bring her breath to catch in her throat. Then she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You're so beautiful!"

See? What had she just said about trusting her?

The dragon reared back, eyes dilating in surprise as it shifted its gaze from her to Boreas and back, and then it seemed to soften and grow curious. She also fluffed her wings a bit, lengthened her neck, and preened as Boreas's lips twitched.

" _Moorrrtaal. I haaave not ssseen one of yourrr kind in maaany aaaagesssss. Haaave you knowledge of myyyy haaaatchling?_ "

Aurora jerked, remembering, snapped her gaping jaw shut, and brought up her hand.

"Yes! He is... uhm... he's..."

She stared at her empty hand with a sudden terror and gasped as she looked down and around in a sudden panic. 

"He was just - but - he-"

She squeaked and went still at a touch on her neck, and stiltedly turned her head, slumping in relief as a little tail curled over her shoulder and the tiny snake like head popped up beside her face. It chirruped happily and wiggled from head to toe, claws prickling her skin, and Boreas looked at her, somewhere between shocked, amused, and relieved.

"S-see? He came to visit me! He's fine!"

The dragon's narrowed eye relaxed somewhat as she snorted a small plume of purple flame and rumbled. The baby on her shoulder yapped, flapping his wing, and she staggered under the surge of excitement and information about her and her room and how nice she was and how she smelled different and he'd been curious and it was so much fun and he'd made a new friend!

/ _He liked her mommy she was shiny!_ /

Aurora laughed and reached up, scratching under his chin as she cooed at him.

"That was sweet of you little one thank you."

Boreas looked thunderstruck, hand convulsing once around hers, and Sareindiel jerked back and up, looking just as surprised. But the little one yapped happily and bumped his head against her cheek, rumbling affectionately, strangely catlike. Behind them the voices of others rose up curious, whispering, and she heard Wraith's voice, a sharp barking order towards them.

" _Yoooou undeerssstood my haaatchlings words..._ "

Aurora looked up, a little worried as the dragon and everyone one stared at her. 

"Ah... well.. y'see, it wasn't really words but... uhm sort of?"

Boreas cleared his throat and stepped closer to her in a show of support, she thought, and she sent him a small smile. The dragon glanced between them, thinking.

" _Whoooo arrrre you mooortal?_ "

"She is my consort, the first human to set foot in fearie in ages as you said, and very unusual in the aspects of her magic, which she is still learning to control in her own way."

The dragons gaze shifted behind her and Aurora turned to sniff at him as Tristan moved up with Stratos and Sine in tow, sending Wraith an exasperated look before stopping at her side and inclining his head to the dragon, sliding his hand around her waist. Then dragon returned the gesture respectfully, an oddly graceful move, and sent them an amused look.

" _Young Prrrincccce. I suppooooose congraaatulationsss are in orrrder then. You may yet hhhave yourrrrr handsss full with thisss one._ "

"It is quite the honor I believe. She meant nothing by this, truly. She has never before seen a dragon, and I believe her curiosity overcame her better judgement for a moment...."

Aurora stuck her tongue out at him, and the dragon rumbled a laugh, eyes crinkling and smoke furling forth. She turned a toothy smile to them as she straightened, looking down on the crowd as she raised her wings.

" _Whhhhat isss your name, hhhhhuman?_ "

She swallowed but straightened her shoulders, glad the dragon seemed mollified by the fact that her hatchling was obviously fine, and still purring while nuzzling against her cheek.

"Aurora."

The dragon hummed in her chest, dipping her head.

" _Cooooome, Mythrandiel._ "

The little dragon leapt off her shoulder, flapped in a circle around her head one time, making her laugh, and then flew up to hover by his mother, yipping nonstop as he told her everything he could think of. The dragon's gaze was fond as she tucked her wing down, bumped him affectionately, making him crow out happily and land on top of her head. She glanced down at Aurora again, tilting her head a little as she straightened her wings out to their full length, glittering scales shining in the sunlight.

" _We must speak in depth sssometiiiime hhhhuuman. Come find ussss before you retuuuurn to the sssshhhining court._ "

Aurora's jaw fell open, as did every other Sidhe's in the clearing. Then with a great gust of wind that had both Tristan and Boreas catching her to keep her from tumbling backwards, Sareindiel brought her wings down with a sound like a clap of thunder and a hurricane. It was only moments before she was in the air, wings fanning through the sky as she circled once high overhead before turning towards the mountain Aurora had seen from Mythrandiel. The helping hands fell away as she stepped forward, watching after the retreating dragons with awestruck eyes, lips parted as she stared after it. Her heart was thundering, squeezing in her chest with a wistful, aching want to feel the wind through her hair and see the world through their eyes. It left her breathless, and she flinched as the two left the edge of her perimeter, where she could no longer hear that ancient, awe inspiring, haunting music that surrounded Sareindiel. 

Someone cleared their throat behind her, and she whirled. She instantly clapped her hands behind her, rocking back on her heels, trying to offer a sheepish, apologetic smile. Tristan and Boreas stood side by side, arms crossed. Tristan was frowning at her, exasperation making him raise an eyebrow, blue eyes flashing, trying not to laugh, still dressed in the silken harem pants he sometimes wore around his rooms before bed and a matching robe that was gaping open. Boreas wore almost the exact same thing, but his were black and silver, with the remnants of the painted tattoos from the day before shadows across his chest. His expression was almost the same as Tristan's, lips twitching, amusement lining his face. When he cocked his head back just a little, lips parting on a half smile, she blinked at him as a fuzzy memory surfaced.

_The music, the heat, the colors and people, the food, drinks, the crackling fires from last night._   
_Her dancing with a charming, strangely familiar UnSeelie with pointed ears, long black hair, tricolored blue eyes, and an easy smile. What had he said his name was?_

She jerked back to herself to see the other UnSeelie watching her with curiosity, some concern, and some not quite so friendly. Wraith, Stratos, and Sine were behind Tristan, both of them looking close to laughter, but Sine looked a bit more freaked out. 

"Uhm... good morning... Boreas... heh..."

He snorted, turning his head to eye his nephew.

"Quite the handful indeed. Come, let us break our fast, and discuss this mornings... events."

Tristan side eyed her, lips twitching, and held out a hand for her.

"Yes. I think that would be best. Come along flower, we have much to talk about."

Ah hell. At least they didn't look mad.

 

 

"So, do you think she really wants to talk to me, or is she just inviting me back to her den so she can crispy fritter me in peace?"

Several pairs of eyes swung around to look at her incredulously, and she gave them a sheepish smile. They had returned to the King's rooms to have breakfast, just them, the guards, and a couple of the King's guards who stood farther away, ignoring them mostly. Yeah right. 

But she had explained to everyone the dragon waking her up, the excited running to Tristan, and then her and Wraith bolting out to Sareindiel. Boreas seemed to think it highly entertaining, and while Tristan did too, she could see the slight flinching around his eyes still. She would talk to him later about it and apologize for scaring a hundred years off his life. 

"I believe that if she harboured such intentions she would simply have done so, and the consequences be damned. Sareindiel is quite a nice dragon, she has lived in peace with us for many years just inside our borders, somewhere. I am afraid that I cannot tell you where exactly, so we may have a bit of a time finding her, that is, if you wish to take her up on her most generous, unprecedented offer."

Perhaps saving the information for another time that she knew exactly where the den was would be a good idea. She blinked at the king curiously, thinking, and turned to look at Tristan. He was leaned back in his chair, one elbow on the table, looking a bit more relaxed. Thankfully. 

"What do you think Tristan?"

He seemed a little shocked that she had asked him, and she frowned at him. He flushed a little before shifting around and answering her.

"Uncle is right, it is a high honor. Dragons do not simply invite Sidhe into their dens... caution would be advised, certainly."

Lips twitching, she dropped her chin into her palm to stare at him with wide interested eyes.

"Are you sure?"

Blue eyes narrowed amidst the sudden barks of laughter around their table, but his own lips twitched despite his trying otherwise. She let her own smile finally break as the laughter bubbled under her ribs, and watched as the prince's face melted into soft amusement with his own wide smile aimed back at her, gaze sparkling, warm. 

Tristan dropped his gaze with a soft laugh, rolling his eyes to look at the others with a scowl.

"Well, I was merely answering her question truthfully!"

"Of course Prince!"

It started a round of laughter and jokes that had her getting mock growls from Tristan, and all she could do was blink at him innocently.

 

 

She supposed that was why she'd ended up here after breakfast; it was Tristan's revenge.

The King had said he needed to hold his court for a short time before lunch and invited Tristan to accompany him. It was part of being a royal guest, she supposed, but then Tristan had turned the tables on her. He'd told her she needn't attend, he knew how easily bored she became, so she could skip it. The King had told her, absolutely delighted of course, that she should explore a bit and see more of the Sithen while here. Then Tristan had added that since he would be with the king and his guard, he would be fine, but Sine could still come with him. He wanted Stratos and Wraith to walk with her and guard her, not from any threats, but from any trouble she could possibly get herself into, which seemed to be a lot.

The three of them had sputtered indignantly as he had smiled at her, ruffled her hair, and walked out with the King who had thought it uproariously funny.

Dicks!

That was how she'd ended up here, she was sure. Walking the gardens outside with Wraith and Stratos, in a long argument, mostly her stomping her foot and threatening the two of them for giving her Elvin liqueur last night. To which neither had understood the reference, and she'd had to explain, then scowl at them and stomp her foot, again, and pout until they finished roaring with laughter.

"Ah but Princess, I did not tell you to throw the entire contents of the horn back in one go!"

"But you said it would give me energy! Not get me drunk off my ass!"

"Well it -did- give you energy! That is one of its main purposes!"

"Truly it is."

"Shut up Wraith, I didn't see you trying to stop me either."

He ducked his head sheepishly, and Stratos crossed his arms, grinning proudly at her.

"It was impressive! And you managed to impress the others as well, you are welcome among the lot of us now."

She snorted at him, whirling on her heel to continue their walk down the sandy paths as they fell into step beside her.

"Right. Now I just have to beat some of the other guards in an arm wrestling competition, right?"

Stratos beamed at her proudly.

"I knew I could beat their captain!"

She rolled her eyes but laughed. No doubt.

 

 

"Hey, is there a way I could tell Iridius about the uhm.. the animal thing? And Sareindiel?"

She sat up from where she was leaned against the trunk of a tree, passing her hands over the tall stalks of grass around her that swayed in the breeze and were almost as tall as her elbows. It was beautiful out here, and they'd found a hill over looking some of the land in a field to stop and rest a bit. Wraith had been leaned against the next tree over like her, long legs bent as he rested, and he tilted his head back to look over at her questioningly, mimicking Stratos who lay between them on his back with his hands behind his head.

"Well of course you can tell him, he will want to know everything that has happened when we get back."

She collapsed back against the tree, plucking a strand of grass and twining it between her fingers.

"Yes I know, but I meant now. Like... I dunno, sending a letter or something? Oohh, could I send him a letter via carrier pigeon or something?"

She grinned widely at them, and they both returned her look blankly, obviously at a loss. She huffed.

"Uhm... its like.. a trained bird that carries missives between places, like they tie it to the birds leg and send it..."

They both looked mildly intrigued, sharing a look between them with a shrug.

"I.. have not seen it done before, perhaps with the clans farther out that have powers more along that of flora and fauna, but most send the spells like you saw that day Rosalyn faked the 'emergency' for Iridius."

She frowned at Stratos, thinking, then snapped her fingers. "Oh! You mean that little ball of light he'd been messing with?"

Stratos nodded and she chewed her lip thoughtfully.

"I would rather write one. He hasn't taught me those spells yet, what with everything going on.. and I could put a seal on it maybe, to make sure he was the one who got it."

The guards shared another look, and Wraith shrugged at Stratos, who turned back to her with a half smile.

"Well, I do not see why not... we shall ask the prince first to make sure he doesn't see anything wrong with it.."

She beamed at them and flopped back against the tree again.

"Awesome. But... we can stay here a bit longer... its nice here."

The two guards hummed soft agreements with her and she smiled, feeling warmth curling through her ribs, eyes a little heavy as they sat in companionable silence for a while longer.

 

 

"Yes, she says it like it is something they did where she came from."

"Such an unusual idea.., I wonder how they know the birds will go where they should?"

"She mentioned they trained them.. but perhaps with the aid of her magic she could simply... tell them?"

Aurora's eyes fluttered as she shifted a little, waiting for the fog around her mind to clear. It did, slowly, as she realized that Stratos, Tristan, and Boreas's voices were talking not too far from her in soft tones, intrigued and amused she thought. Something was soft under her cheek, hard at the same time, like satin over steel, and she was surrounded by heat with a familiar scent; that of the darkest parts of night, something crisp and almost cool by smell alone. She knew it, and tried to put her finger on it as she slowly pushed away the last vestiges of sleep, moving a little to open her eyes as she finally figured it out. She mumbled his name on a yawn as she focused on black hair like silken spiderwebs that slid over his shoulders and clung to her here and there.

"....Wraith?"

His voice rumbled a soft questioning note under her ear, making her lift her head a little and cover her mouth as she yawned again. 

"Hmm?"

"What.. when did I....?"

"You fell asleep princess, so we brought you inside. Stratos is speaking to Tristan of the missive you mentioned now."

She shifted a little, and it finally clicked as something tightened on her; Wraith was holding her, and she had just been sleeping on him. Oh for fucks sake this was happening way too damned often.

"Jesus Wraith, how long have you been holding me up?"

He shrugged, looking at the group speaking a few steps away, and she realized he was leaning against the wall, ankles crossed, holding her like she was nothing. Grief, he was going to give a girl a complex.

"Put me down you big lug."

He glanced at her then, at her intense, sleepy frown, and grinned before looking back at the others.

"Rest, you are fine."

She huffed at him, but she was tired, having had like two hours of sleep last night, maybe, and thumped her head against his collar again with a disdainful snort that made him chuckle.

"I am fine with it Tristan, it is up to you. I see no harm in it."

"I.. suppose I do not either.. I worry only about rumor and speculation that had surely gotten out already. Perhaps it could even help, and Iridius could tell mother and father... we will just make sure she does not put any, ah.. sensitive, issues in the letter."

Stratos just inclined his head at the Prince and the King who sent him a smile, then the King was clapping his hand on Tristan's shoulder, leading him away.

"We have but two cases left, and it shall be nothing but celebration for three more days my nephew! Real celebrations, not that boring, stiff necked mess we have attended so far."

She vaguely wondered if the king had overheard her say that at some point as her eyes grew heavy again.

Tristan's laugh echoed back as they walked out and the door closed behind them. Stratos turned to see her watching him through half slitted eyes as she yawned again and he grinned.

"Ready to write that letter then princess?"

She smiled. "Awesome."

 

 

"Really? I'm going to have to translate this crap into the elder futhark? Do you know how long its been since I've actively studied Norse mythology?!"

Both Wraith and Stratos peered at her as if she were mad, and she leaned forward to thump her head against the table with a frustrated growl. She should have known, although she hadn't thought about it so far, that she hadn't read anything while she'd been here that hadn't been in runes. It would've been too easy otherwise. Really.

"Is this not how your people write?"

She shook her head, then thumped it against the table again.

"No. This is literally ancient history where I'm from. Good grief I'm glad for my weird pagan crap now."

They both looked at her with raised eyebrows, lips twitching in amusement as she flopped back into her chair with a huff and gestured for the scroll again.

"Fine, gimme that. I'll do a rough draft, and then maybe you guys can help me make sure I'm not insulting his entire parentage and telling him he does bad things to goats instead of anything else."

As she started scratching at the paper with the quill she looked up at the sudden silence, halfway grinning when the both of them suddenly roared with laughter.

 

 

After two rough drafts and then her finally penning out the letter with a flourish, she grinned brightly at the two guards who gave her exasperated, but fond she thought, smiles in return. She'd written a completely ADHD riddled letter to Iridius about the understanding the horses, then the other animals, and finally all about the dragons and the invitation to visit them and a shit ton about the court and the king and everything, including Stratos's add ons for him to tell the king and queen from Tristan. Then she rolled it up, and stood staring at it several minutes, thinking about how exactly to wrap the music around it.

"Aurora?"

She jerked, looking up at her two friends as they gazed at her in mild concern and she huffed at them.

"I'm thinking!"

"About....?"

"How to seal it. I think if I could... copy a strand of music that sounded like Iridius's.. I think I could wrap it so that when he touched it, it would dissipate so he could read it."

They both looked at her with raised eyebrows, and she shrugged.

"S'worth a try."

Good thing she'd always been good about being about to copy pitch, tone, rhythm, things like that, from memory. It'd be cool if this worked. 

It took her ten minutes of tweaking, whirling the music, and folding the notes around the scroll the way she wanted them, until she got it. Then with a triumphant yip, because to her it _sounded_ right, she held it out to Stratos.

"Try to open it."

He looked at it dubiously, and she shook it at him.

"Come on, its not like I booby trapped it to electrocute you or anything."

She brightened when he took it, holding it as if it would bite him, and even Wraith leaned away a little when he reached for the flap of paper and tried to lift it up. He paused, looking from it to her and back, then tried again. It lifted about an inch, and froze as if being held down. He glanced at Wraith with surprise, and then passed it to him to try. Even Wraith could not budge it, and they stared at her in shock, then broke into proud grins. 

"Amazing princess! You did it!"

She clapped her hands together and laughed, snatching the scroll back as she bolted to her feet and danced in a triumphant circle. 

"Woo! Yay! I thought it would work, its kinda like something else Iridius taught me, but... never mind, come on, let's go outside and see if I can talk one of the local fauna into delivering it for me!"

This time the guards shared a look like they thought she was going to be heavily disappointed, but they followed her along outside anyway.

Once outside, she wound around until they were up a little higher on a slope overlooking some of the surrounding trees. With a nervous excitement in her stomach she twisted the scroll in her hands, and thought of how she'd called for help that day Stratos had been hurt, and how much more she seemed go understand her 'gifts' now. So she tugged at her magic, let it envelop her, sing around her as she suddenly heard the thousands of songs ringing through the air nearby. There were loud, bright beats, sudden bursts of sound, fast, heart pounding rhythms, slow, steady hums, soft rumbles of tunes, little hymns like lullabies, and whispering songs. She smiled as it made her blood rush through her system with excitement, with a giddy burst of happiness that she could hear this, at how amazing it was. 

She shared another smile with the guards who shook their heads at her with responding smiles, and she huffed a soft laugh before turning back to look toward the forest. One deep breath to ease her nerves, and she made a quick decision to hold her arms open and out, palms up. Along with her voice she unfurled her music, and added some mental pictures for a simple explanation of sorts.

"Okay guys, I'm asking for a favor here. I could use one of my winged friends to deliver a paper to the Seelie court for me, if you would.. it will have to be a good sized one of you I'm afraid, this paper they gave me surely weighs a couple pounds."

She heard the guys snort behind her and she laughed, unintentionally adding it to the announcement, sort of. She waited a moment, felt the animals out there moving, some listening, looking to see who would answer and she gave it a couple of minutes. Animals were not necessarily the fastest decision makers after all. She felt something turn its attention to her just as Stratos shifted behind her.

"Ah... I do not think they are coming princess."

She turned a little to the right, looking towards the deeper forest with a slight frown. Two strands of music had separated itself from the others, moving in a sudden burst of speed, one smaller than the other. It's music was bright, fiery, drums and horns in a tribal beat that brought her heart pounding against her ribs to the rhythm. It sounded _wild_. And then she caught a flash of curiosity from it, and an agreement. 

They were coming to talk to her.

"Something is... Hang on guys, just for a second."

They both stepped closer to her, protective, solid as she straightened and watched the trees. There was a bright flash as something darted through, behind the trees, the smaller one trailing just a little behind. The other animals gave flashes of attention to it, some moving, some greeting, and they circled once, then just before they burst out of the trees Wraith heaved in a surprised breath.

"Is that a...?!"

He cut off as she gasped in surprise and awe. The two birds cleared the treetops in a spiral as they flapped their wings, climbed up high to circle each other before the larger one faced her, pausing before they dipped and sped toward her with a few mighty beats. Beside her the guards were tense, but she dropped the scroll from nerveless fingers as she stared in awe, stepping forward. Wraith scrambled to catch the scroll, holding it to his chest as they watched her, but they didn't intervene, they'd already started to learn things often went much differently around her than they normally did. She was standing a yard away from them when the birds reached her and cawed out soft sounds. They were as curious and bright as their minds were, flashing at her with intelligence, curiosity. She held up her hands, forcing herself to stop gaping, stammering out a few soft words as one paused to hover in front of her, wings fanning slowly to hold it aloft while the smaller one continued to circle above them.

"H-hi..."

/ _Greetings Daughter of the North Wind._ /

Heat flashed across her hands, tingling up her arms as the bird extended its feet, landing softly on her upturned palms. She braced for the weight, for the burn and heat, but it was only warm, hotter than her certainly, but not enough to burn, and surprisingly much lighter than she'd thought. Its eyes, flashing diamond bright with an icy blue gaze, focused on her as she heard its voice, male, high toned and precise, but its beak never moved.

"You're... absolutely amazing.."

His feathers puffed, he lifted his head proudly and spread his wings out wide, almost as long as her arm span, right at three feet each she was sure, and he was certainly right at two feet tall himself. His beak and feet were black as pitch, matching the feathers surrounding his eyes, toes tipped in dagger like claws that were careful not to prick her as he shifted proudly. His feathers looked like gems wrung out into something living, soft and light, so bright it nearly hurt her eyes. They faded from every shade of red out to oranges, edged in bold yellows, shimmering as if the colors moved in soft waves, following the sparks that seemed to trail from it. It had long tail feathers, almost like a peacock, dripping more of the same eddies of color like sparks from the flames of the bonfire from the other night. He seemed to have been made of flames and gemstones, like fire come to life as it folded his wings against his body again and she remembered to breathe.

_She was holding a phoenix. Speaking to one. By everything that was holy..._

/ _Thank you youngling. You are certainly pretty for a human._ /

She blushed red, stammering out a soft thank you while the bird ruffled its feathers and cackled. It made her smile and relax a little, smiling brightly as it cocked its head to look at her with some amusement.

/ _I am Zaltheim, and this my mate, Dainia._ /

She looked up, smiling as the other phoenix came down, closer, hovering. She could see that it did in fact seem a bit more feminine, less muscled, smaller and softer. She dipped her beak and let out a soft sound.

/ _Greetings._ /

Aurora smiled brightly at the higher voice, lilting and feminine, pausing as Zaltheim walked his feet over to hold onto her arm, and she lifted her free one to allow Dainia to land as well. The phoenix perched delicately, sending a look to her mate, and Aurora could actually hear the music between them, the soft warmth of love that wound around them. It was beautiful.

They turned back to her, waiting, and she jerked, wanting to smack herself. Duh.

"Oh! Sorry! My name is Aurora, it is a pleasure to meet you both.. and this is Stratos, and Wraith. They are my friends."

She turned slowly so she didn't startle them, to beam happily at her friends. They both seemed thunderstruck, but jerked up straight and gave half a bow at the birds that sat glowing on her arms.

"May I tell them your names?"

They both looked at her, shocked she had asked she thought, before he dipped his beak in a nod and she felt his pleasure with her. 

/ _Yes child, go ahead. You may tell them hello for us both._ /

She glanced at the surprised guards, and dipped the arm each bird sat on as she introduced them.

"They say hello! This is Zaltheim, and his mate, Dainia."

Both guards murmured back soft greetings, just as awestruck she thought as she was. The birds preened at them, and then Zaltheim turned his head to look at her.

/ _Now then, you wished help with delivering a missive to someone at the Seelie Court, did you not?_ /

She blinked at him in confusion for a moment before she remembered with a startled laugh and grinned at him. 

"Oh yes! To Iridius... I will tell you about it."

Iridius was going to love this.

 

 

With her scroll clutched in his talons, Zaltheim rose up to circle overhead once with a soft goodbye, assuring them he would return by the morrow, before he turned towards the other Sithen and started off. Dainia had walked up to sit on Aurora's shoulder, and watched him depart with a soft fondness and pride. Aurora reached up to smooth a light hand over her side, earning her a please hum in response. They decided that she would stay with Aurora and the others tonight until he returned tomorrow. He didn't want to leave her alone in the woods overnight, unprotected without him there.  
With him on his way, they turned back towards the Sithen and she smiled at the phoenix.

"Would you like to meet the Prince and the King? They're awesome, I think you'll like them."

/ _Certainly youngling._ /

Stratos and Wraith began to chuckle and she winked at them, laughing merrily.

Let's see if they could give them their second heart attack in one day.

 

 

She'd admit, they'd been surprised, but not as freaked out as they had been about the dragon baby. Boreas had even charmed the lovely Dainia, making her fluff her feathers and chitter at him as he spoke to her. Aurora just grinned at the rogue, who only winked and smiled back, completely unrepentant, as usual.

The feast that night for supper was grand, wonderfully merry as the Sidhe seemed to relax again and enjoy themselves. Afterwards there was dancing and lots of lively music, and while it wasn't quite as lively as the servants party, she was certainly having a grand time.

In fact, she kept ending up dancing with Boreas, who seemed to enjoy dancing with her the best; she mused that it was because the others still seemed afraid of him, wary and jumpy like they were dancing with a snake. Dainia seemed to love the festivities as well, soaring around the room and stopping to watch different Sidhe, perch on a few of their beckoning hands and preen while they ohh'd and ahh'd over her.

In fact, to this song she was falling quickly in love with, a mixture of wild, thrumming flutes and horns amidst staccato drumbeats, she was once again in the arms of the King, being twirled around the dance floor in graceful loops. She liked that he was so laid back with her, having fun, giving her genuine smiles, throwing back his head to laugh at her completely inane jokes, and sharing his sense of humor with her. She was rapidly developing a soft spot for the King, fitting him in with her small group of friends that she cared for, was protective of, and that was probably a recipe for trouble but she couldn't really help it.

She gasped as she was suddenly lifted off the floor and swung around until she was dizzy.

"Holy shit Boreas!"

She was laughing so much she couldn't speak too well, breathless and light headed, grinning like an idiot as he settled her on her feet and kept a tight hold of her lest she fall. Still they kept moving about the floor, with him holding one of her hands up and out like they were waltzing or something, and the other at the small of her back, keeping her close, and mostly propped up so she didn't fall. He was grinning from ear to ear, and she once again had that fuzzy flash of memory from the night before of the man who seemed so familiar. 

The song ended, and they came to a laughing stop, the King moving back to bow over her hand while she shooed at him with a giggle. It was when he straightened, stepped closer with those metallic eyes glinting at her, full of shadows and secrets, that she froze to look at him wide eyed. He moved even closer, put his mouth next to her ear to murmur something that had her blushing and gaping in surprise. No sooner had he said it than he was gone, off into the flurry of movement in the crowd, and Tristan was catching her hand with a smile, offering her a drink, and she wiped the look off her face before he thought something was wrong. But the king's laughing, murmured words had explained something, and she remembered that powerful Sidhe could use glamor.

" _Still not quite as fun as a servants party, is it?_ "

 

*-*-*-*

 

~ _Meanwhile in the Solar Room of the Seelie Sithen_ ~

Iridius sat at one of his many desks, books and scrolls spread out before him, and one long, particularly old curl of paper with vivid, swirling pictures across it crinkling under his palm as he peered intently at it. He used his quill to scribble out several notes across his own parchment, looking back and forth, reaching for one of the books to check something. A flash and a ticking sound caught his attention, making him lift his head to turn slowly and look around until he found the cause of it.

Something that made his jaw drop as he stared.

Across his solar room, hovering with great flaps of its flashing wings, was a Phoenix. One who held a scroll of papers rolled in its talons and was carefully pecking its beak against the wooden beam of his doorway. He surged to his feet, dropping his quill as he moved forward, and was even more surprised as the bird saw that it had his attention and stopped pecking, then flew toward him. He flinched back instinctively as it swooped in front of him, and continued to hover once again. This time it was extending its feet toward him, and he stared at the scroll dumbly for several seconds until the bird made a soft cackle and seemed to gesture with it. He reached up then, tentatively, and it was dropped into his hand. He then watched as the bird glanced around, found a clear space, and landed, careful of all his things as it folded its wings and watched him. 

Waiting.

He looked back at the scroll in his hands, and was even more stunned to recognize Aurora's swirl of magic around the parchment, and a mimicry of his own sealing it shut.

"What, by the divine, has that child done now?"

The bird made that cackling sound again at his murmured question, and he glanced at it, wondering, before he opened the scroll and scanned over it. Shock had him stumbling back to his seat to fall into his chair and read over the letter again, several times in disbelief. Then he turned to look at the phoenix, who ruffled its feathers and cocked its head to stare at him. Iridius leapt to his feet and hurried toward the door, pausing before he rushed out to glance back at the bird and hesitate.

"You... are you going to wait, to bring her back an answer?"

The bird dipped its head, and his eyes rounded as he whirled and burst of the solar room.

He had to speak with the King and Queen!!

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

The feast for supper had gone well. Uninterrupted by any such random drama as what tended to normally befell her. Or so it seemed lately. 

Here was to hoping her luck changed.

She lifted her glass, took a _very_ small sip of the drink she's started calling ambrosia, and set the glass back down with a small secretive smile aimed at Stratos, who of course winked back at her. She set her gaze around the room they were in and sighed once in her own soft bliss. The king had asked them all to attend him for the night's .... activities, instead of the big parties they were having on the other nights, claiming he wanted their company to himself for a little while.

She'd been a bit apprehensive, certainly, but it had been for nothing it seemed. He had only invited them up to the room adjoining his 'chambers', which was utterly beautiful, to relax and talk.

What? So her mind lived in the gutter. That was nothing new. 

The room was white marble, glinting in the moonlight streaming through the archways, ones that led outside, but also to a damned steep drop from the third story room. The king lived on the highest floor, she should've known. The view was gorgeous, surrounded in creeping ivy that was gold and dark red, which seemed to crawl over the walls it could reach as if trying to take back the realm that should be part of the forest. It seemed to look out over the most untamed part of the wildest lands of the UnSeelie, and she wondered if he'd purposely chosen this room, this view. Everything inside was decorated in jewel toned colors, flags and tapestries covering almost every inch of the walls, a long table in the middle sat low to the ground, covered in strange foods and drinks in golden trays, bejeweled cups, and overflowing platters. They, being Boreas, Tristan, Stratos, Wraith, and Sine, were all sitting around another such table, but a smaller round one, set just inside one of the great archways. They had no chairs, only these gigantic cushions, pitched among a thousand smaller ones, to recline on. The room was huge, cordoned off for meager privacy, at least she thought, it could simply be for looks, by many of the colored silks hanging down from the ceiling. Had she not have seen the walls and big table before, she would think they were in an airy, almost incorporeal room due to the things waving in a soft wind coming in from the opening. 

It was oddly extravagant, and made her think instantly of tales of treasure and adventure, stories of harems and sultans in far off kingdoms surrounded by jungles and vast desserts. It made her smile as she glanced toward Boreas when he spoke, another burst of low talking as he looked around at them. He seemed to be relaxing somewhat, acting more like she thought he, himself was in truth. And as if they too noticed it, the others were slowly relenting with their usual facades, becoming more the men she laughed with, watched wrestle her big, slobbery dog around the courtyard of the courts, and play sword fight with small bright eyed children and cart them around after they let said child win.

She was going to tell them how proud she was of them. Later.

Those glowing metallic eyes were crinkled at the corners as he laughed at Tristan's muttered response, lit with amusement and not as guarded as they normally were when they landed on her. She beamed at him, and he seemed to pause for a moment with a beat of surprise before his smile actually seemed to turn pleased, and a little bashful before he twisted to laugh at the pained face Wraith was making about their conversation. She was so busy wondering why she'd seen the surprise that she jumped at a hand on her knee. She turned to find the source of the heat, and strangely these little electric tingles that were running across her skin now, with surprise.

Tristan's reaction was to halfway smirk, eyes dancing mischievously, but he leaned forward with a small curl of one long finger. She was tempted to use her foot to push at the big pillow, which was actually more like a giant ass bean bag, that he was sprawled across. Like a little kid too, all knees and elbows, head back as he pushed with his heels to 'lean' towards her, head upside down, hair in tangles like Christmas tree tinsel wrapped around her legs, laid across her feet she had curled up and leaning with her side against her own bean bag. Even as she tried to huff at him it came out a snort and she began to snicker.

He narrowed his gaze, smile turning playful with an edge as he snaked out his other hand and caught her wrist, pulling at her. His voice came out in a mock snarl as he curled his lip and pretended to growl.

"Come here woman."

She barked a laugh and nearly gave in and shoved him but caught herself just in time; there was no way she was hurting that gorgeous hair. So she leaned forward, stopping with her hair falling forward to shield them from the rest of the room as she lifted an eyebrow.

"Yes, your highness?"

Her tone was droll, a sarcastic, highly amused mutter as he rolled his eyes at her.

"Hush all of that. I wanted to tell you something important..."

This close to him, inches away, she could smell that scent that was his, winding around her like a phantom thing. She suddenly halfway realized, _just what in the hell was she doing_? She swallowed, and his eyes flicked down to her lips as he smiled again, a flash of pearly teeth in the low lighting.

"I.... wanted to... ah.. thank you."

She blinked, cocking her head a little, snapped out of her moment of dancing the edge of panic to stare at him in confusion. 

"Wh-what? For what?"

His eyes softened, as did the touch on her wrist, turning to the press of the pads of his fingers against her skin. It felt like one of those static balls she'd played with in years past, snaking little shocking lines of warmth down her nerve endings, and she switched her gaze to his hand, wondering what was happening. Was he doing it on purpose? It had never happened before-

"For my uncle and the friendship you are bringing forth in him... before there were.. well, there are many reasons why things were different, despite my.. attempts otherwise. In fact.. there are many things I would discuss with you. This only proves that I was right in thinking to ask your help about them. But.. it will have to be when we return home, I cannot speak of such things here, despite being in trusted company, it is an unsafe place."

She whipped her gaze back to him, curious, wide eyed, but she dipped her head in a nod. Inside her stomach was fluttering, with curiosity, surprise, even a bit of apprehension. It had to be important the way he spoke of it, what on earth could _he_ want _her_ help with?

"Thank you flower."

"Y-yeah.. sure Tristan.. of course."

He released his hold on her, sliding away the touch, and she flinched at the almost audible pop when his skin left hers. She straightened up slowly, despite the urge to jerk away as her nostrils flared at the weird feeling. What in the hell was going on?!

Then Tristan turned back to the conversation, something about an old fight they'd all been in, about a brawl at a tavern, that had them all laughing and teasing each other. She relaxed again, slowly, content to curl up on her own bean bag and watch them, to listen. This didn't happen often, and unless the weird thing kept happening she was going to ignore it. It could be anything for all she knew. 

When she ran out of the ambrosia stuff she sat her cup down and stopped nursing it, resting her chin on her bent arm over the back of the bag she was still on.

They were still all talking, but it was a bit more laid back, and she glanced outside through the archways. The trees were swaying in the wind, which seemed to have picked up a good deal since earlier. It just seemed so much darker out there than it normally was, and she could feel something building, kind of. Swirling around and growing out in the night just past her awareness.

She tilted her head, halfway paying attention as Stratos got up out of his seat and moved out of sight with a laugh and something muttered about more drinks. She was too busy trying to hear anything, and it hit her suddenly that she'd almost muted the music around her to focus on the guys as they talked. Duh!

So she flipped the switch, carefully cracking open the window again inside her head to hear the sounds outside in the hope that maybe she could understand what in the hell was going on. The low roar of music only miles away caught her freezing in place as it strummed through her ears. 

It was a storm, a real one.

That explained the creeping white just beyond the trees a mile out that she could see, sweeping through the dark in a rolling wave, preceded by the cool air that slithered through the archways. It curled around her in teasing wisps, lifting her hair with the heavy scent of deep, dark soil, wet trees, that smell of soaked green things and life out in the forest. She sighed out a loose breath that seemed to come from the bottom of her very soul, all the tension leaking out of her body like the string had been cut. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she listened, resting her chin back on her bent arms, going boneless as the song crooned to her. 

She'd always loved storms. The sights, the scents, the feel of it. Maybe it was part of that nature thing Iridius had mentioned; she didn't know, surely she could ask him later...

Although that made her wonder, why hadn't he sent back any word yet through Zaltheim, who had said he would wait to bring back some word from the scholar himself...?

Her eyes slitted open, and it was then that she realized she had completely tuned out everything around her to focus entirely on the sound of the storm. Well, it seemed like the guys were happily all talking, occupied, so it would be alright. She glanced toward the forest again, lips curving ever so slightly, and thought of the storm, of the music she'd heard from one before, how she had called it to her own hand that day in the clearing. She felt her magic rise up in response to her thoughts, and the swell of it as it roiled just out of eyeshot. She started to curl it back in, to halt it, and was shocked out of her focus by a hand landing on her shoulder, jolting her back to herself with a gasp.

"Aurora would y-you-"

She came up off the cushion faster than she'd have said she could move, reaching out as the Sidhes knee's buckled. His face paled, his eyes went wide, and the hand on her shoulder convulsed painfully into the muscles, digging fingers into her skin, pressing a star print of bruises. But she couldn't even feel it through the panic as he hit his knees with a thud, as he shuddered and heaved in a strangled breath. She caught at his arms to hold him up, alarm spiraling through her, and she was suddenly being drowned by the music of the storm. She flung open her awareness, trying to find the problem, to see what was bothering him, and then her back bowed with a hiss of something near pain. His other hand came up to mirror the first, grabbing both curves of her shoulders, and from each point electricity seared across her nerve endings. It was a little like what had been happening to Tristan earlier, but _so much more_. She felt like she'd grabbed a live wire as every muscle in her body locked up, screaming with the passing of it before it jumped back to him and she gasped in a breath.

Behind her the others were moving, crying out in alarm, trying to talk to both of them, she could hear their names, but Stratos was perfectly still and ignoring them. He was locked on her, and the pale silver, dark grey, and midnight blue circles of his eyes were almost gone to the widening black of his pupils.

"St-Stratos - what's wrong?! T-talk to me!"

Wraith and Tristan were on either side of him now, looking at each other and then at him, hands reaching to help grab him, to support their obviously wounded or hurting friend. Her eyes widened as Stratos eyes filled with clouds, dark, roiling, thunderheads that passed in front of his pupils. Her jaw dropped, and she felt his music gathering, building in a breath catching swirl of power that pressed stinging bites along her skin, coated her tongue with the metallic twang of tin foil, making her teeth ache and her jaw clench; and then she knew. Her voice came out a frantic whisper, sharp with the edge of panic.

" _Stop_! Don't touch him!"

Tristan and Wraith hesitated, looking at her in puzzled confusion, and she managed to shake her head once. It was still building, echoing in her ears, sending power strumming up her spine, and the distant rumble of thunder rolled back, vibrating the ground itself. The others glanced outside, but Boreas stepped into her line of sight, holding up a hand, his face calm but eyes wide and wondering as he watched them.

"Tis but a midsummer storm, nothing to be concerned about. It is why there were no festivities outside this night.. what exactly is happening?"

Tristan's eyes went wide as he straightened like a whip, gaze snapping back to hers, and she felt the power inching higher, clenched her hands on Stratos's arms in response.

"I didn't mean to... I need to... I..."

Wraith paled, and Boreas's brow furrowed as he looked at them questioningly. Tristan cursed, fluently and with feeling as he stepped to stand directly behind Stratos where he knelt. His gaze flickered as he looked at his Uncle, at the King, and his voice was steely, low.

"I have no time to explain, but I promise you that we will as soon as we can. I had every intention of doing so anyway at the next opportunity to speak safely to you uncle, but now we must deal with this. We must make a circle of power around them right now, to hold this in. Please, hurry!"

Wraith moved up to her left, stepped close and reaching out to grab Tristan's forearm, holding his hand out towards Sine who she could feel behind her. Boreas looked back at her with raised brows, eyes lighting with obvious curiosity. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, and hoped her eyes were as sincere, as pleading, as she was. Something moved behind his eyes, some emotion she couldn't discern, but he nodded and made a gesture behind her. Then he stepped around, and she lost track of him as Sine came into view on her right side. She could only hear his voice as he spoke, watched Sine reach out to grab Tristan, and then two strong, pale hands clamp around Sine and Wraith's forearms from behind her. She felt the heat from him as he stepped closer to make the circle, felt the silk of his robes whisper across her feet, and she turned her gaze back to Stratos who had yet to move.

"I look forward to this explanation."

She wanted to laugh, but as the light dropped from their hands to hit the floor around them and sizzle into existence, she no longer could. It trapped her in the bubble with Stratos, whose power was seeping from his pores, licking up the walls of the barrier with bursts of sparks, making it hard to breathe. The air was so charged she thought it might catch fire, and she swallowed the trepidation in her chest and forced in a deep breath.

She'd called it right as Stratos had touched her, she hadn't realized he'd been so close. And she had forgotten his name whispered among the guards who spoke of his prowess in battle; Domium Imbrium.

The Lord of Storms.

When she'd seen him attack Rosalyn, she'd seen the smallest echo of it. When she'd been near him and listened to his power, heard them speak lightly of it, she'd known what it was, known it was powerful, but not like this. 

Now, she'd unintentionally called it like she had Wraith's. And now that she had, the only thing she knew to do with it was unlock it, to call it until it did what it needed to do like his had, and hand him back the reigns. To unlock the barriers around it and help him take mastery of it.

She swayed back a little as she mentally acquiesced to the magic filling the air around them. As soon as she did it became easier to breathe, and Stratos's body relaxed somewhat. That same voice, whatever it was that had guided her last time, seemed to rise up inside, and she followed where her instincts guided her. She slid her hands from his shoulders down to his forearms, and he mimicked the movement, holding hers. She took a deep breath, finally caught the familiar, but muted, sound of Stratos's music winding from him, and nodded to herself. She closed her eyes, let her music waver and mirror his, and then called it to her.  
Here was to hoping her luck held.

 

 

Aurora opened her eyes, and just for a moment fear brought her heart into her throat.

"...ohhh man....."

She looked around wildly, at him, down at herself, and told herself it was okay. Surely it was okay.

How many times would she open her eyes and not be in the same damned place as she had been moments before?!

They were still holding onto each others arms, kneeling close together, but the others: the Sithen, the room and everything inside, were gone.

They knelt in white sparkling sand that was warm under her legs, next to a gigantic tree whose branches twisted and curved, raking bare fingers towards the sky, its wide trunk black and grey with age. With Death, she thought.

No, _with sleep_. 

She glanced back, and her toes were hanging off into air, for the ground they knelt on was not wide, just big enough for them, curving up a deep slope before leveling out just next to them and the tree. Its roots halfway surrounded them, gnarled things that wrapped in loops and knots and clung stubbornly to the ground and off into the air. Around them great banks of mist clung to the slopes of mountains peaked with snow as far as she could see, each mountain a different color, made a of a different thing.

Wait, where did this information keep coming from?

She shook her head, far more worried by the fact that the ground they were on was the top of one such cliff, though not as tall as the others. She swallowed as her stomach tightened and rolled with fear. Gods she hated heights! 

Nothing moved out in the mist, like it had with Wraith's vision. She guessed it was just going to be different, well, obviously, but...

She turned back to Stratos, then jerked her attention up in wide eyed surprise. The sky was clear, and divided into four halves. One was the usual soft violet she'd become used to here, with the greater golden sun and the smaller red one, the usual sight of daytime. It bled into the next piece, filled with the wide array of colors that came with the setting of the sun, stretching out until it melted into a blanket of stars. From there it was pure night, dotted with those pinpoints of light, the tails of comets, the brighter, large glow of distant planets, and the larger one much closer, the green and blue one with the golden rings. This part faded into the brighter light of day, soft, pastel colors gently sweeping back the dark until it became the bright glare of the sun returning for the day. They all faded into one another, but it was simultaneously day, dusk, night, and dawn here. It was beautiful, and certainly one of the oddest things she'd ever seen. She pried her eyes away to look at her friend again, but he seemed to still be in a trance, his eyes completely unfocused.

"Stratos.... Stratos!"

She gripped his arms tighter, and he jerked at the sound of her voice, finally shaking his head and groaning, blinking furiously before he focused on her in confusion.

"A-Aurora... what... what is - where by the gods are we?!"

He snapped his head around, looking wildly at everything she had been staring at moments before. Then he shifted as if to move, to let go and perhaps draw his sword, but she tightened her hold on him with a hiss of warning and he whipped back to look at her.

"Do not! Look I... I don't really know.. but _do not_ let go of me! I know this, its important."

He settled, slowly, eyes flicking around nervously and back to her, but she sighed.

"Listen you... kind of ...well, I may have called your magic by accident and -"

" ** _YOU WHAT?!_** "

His bellow echoed back from the surrounding mountains and she winced, giving him a sheepish grin, but then they both froze and looked around at the distant rumble of thunder that rolled through the valleys. She lowered her voice to a whisper.

"I didn't mean to! But I did and you like tranced out on me and... well, I didn't know what else to do so we figured I should just go ahead with it and the guys put us in one of those protective circle thingies and... I just... I don't know what happened exactly... I closed my eyes and then we ... were.... here."

They both looked around again, wide eyed, apprehensive, and she shivered. This place was beautiful, but it seemed too perfect, a crystalline thing suspended in a world where mortals did not walk. 

She frowned at herself, at the random thoughts that continued to bleed into her head, and wondered, yet again, where in the hell they came from. 

"So where... is here?"

She looked back at Stratos, and managed to shrug one shoulder.

"I don't know."

"Did this happen with Wraith?"

She hesitated, thought about it. 

"Sort of... we were in another place, but it was different, it was... well, more like his power I would say. Dark and misty... and there was no time to speak to him, I knew he was afraid, and.. I just knew what to do then. So I did..."

He swallowed, and she noted, with a twinge of sympathy, that he was a little pale.

"He also tried to fight me... will you?"

Something in her chest settled, had her heart calming, her mind quieting as she met his eyes. He seemed to notice the change, going wide eyed.

"I... I do not.. wish too... but Aurora-"

" _Then let me do what must be done, so that we may leave this place. I do not think I should be here long._ "

He shifted again, looking all around once, slowly, gaze lingering on the strange scene around them, and then the tree at her right side. She followed his look as he stared at it, at the hole in the middle she could see. It looked like a simple knothole, one she could fit her hand into, but not him.

"I have seen this tree before... in my dreams. I have been here."

His hands twitched, as if he would touch the tree. He looked so wistful, and yet so lost as he continued in that low murmur, almost dreamy as he spoke.

"I knew it was important, that there was something here I needed... but I did not have the key."

He turned back to her, settled back down on his feet, relaxed back on his knees there in front of her, mirroring how she sat, then nodded.

"Go ahead, I will not... I will try, not to fight you."

She smiled then, proud of him, and his own lips started to curl up a little at the corners. 

"Then let us call the Storm of Ages, domine mi procella."

He froze in surprise, lips parting on a protest, but the faintest traces of music she'd heard, like that of a distant lullaby, a soft thrum of sound, caught her attention.

She called to it, sent her own music forth, and it responded with a pulse of magic that had Stratos reacting. His back bowed with a gasp, his eyes going far too wide, and around them thunder rumbled. She held his arms, kept him from flinging himself back off the cliff edge, and he collapsed in on himself with a strangled sound.

Above them clouds began to roll in, dark grey thunderheads that matched one of the colors of his eyes, and they both raised their gazes to see. Wind whispered around them, filled with the murmuring of a thousand voices, dancing through the valleys and up to surround them, lifting their hair and sending it floating in the breeze. She looked back at him, met his shocked gaze, and saw the same clouds rolling through his eyes again.

The music was swelling, building just out of eyeshot, but not quite right. She focused on it, called to it, beckoned it forth, and finally saw. As Stratos went rigid again, hands tightening on her arms, she could see the core of his power. It was like a tornado, a small cyclone that stayed so very still, surrounded by bands of lightening. They held it back. She frowned, reached for it as the clouds overhead began to circle them, darkening to a dangerous black, blotting out the light, and thunder rolled through the world. But she could hear the trumpets, the horns, the drums, the violins vibrating with the response to her call. She dropped her hold on Stratos, who scrambled to keep his hold on her arms, and reached out to lay her palm over his heart. Inside the tornado light flashed, the distant crack of it was heard, zinging over her nerves as the bands pulsed. 

"Come to me..."

He hissed in a breath as the world around them came to life with a flash of lightening that left them half blind, sent sparks of power tripping over their skin, coating the tongue with the metallic taste of tinfoil, making the air heavy and almost impossible to get a breath. As the bolts around the tornado broke, melting away, the wind howled, whistled through the valleys, up the hills and past them in wailing lines and to the clouds, sending them spiraling faster. Lightening arced from cloud to cloud, and it was suddenly reflected in his eyes, slamming to the earth with great claps of sound, echoed by booms of under that rattled the earth they knelt on.

The music answered in a suddenly wild cacophony, free and unbound as it twirled out into the world around them. Several places in the clouds split open, and dark funnels twisted down from the skies, dancing in dangerous spirals all around them, joining the thunder and lightening, the wind whipping everything into a frenzy.

The tree beside them groaned, branches creaking and popping as it whipped in the storm, stubbornly clinging to the cliffs edge as it bent almost in two.  
It was all building, and as she stared around, as fear tightened her stomach, she looked back at Stratos.

"You have to control it! Stratos! Stratos focus!"

But he was staring into the maelstrom, the entire thing reflected in his eyes, pouring out of him with the wild pounding of his music, and she didn't think he could hear her, even shouting, over the roaring of the wind. What was she supposed to do?! There was no backup plan! No way to fix it and put it back! She'd unleashed his magic, and now she didn't have a way to give him back control! She held up her free hand, grasped at air, felt tears prick her eyes. There were no reigns of fire appearing for her to give him, _nothing_ to help! _What was she suppose to do?! How could she_ -

"Woah!"

She flinched back with a startled yelp as lightening slammed into the tree beside them, flaring intense heat over them both as sparks scattered and danced over the ground. Stratos continued to stare in awe, and suddenly she heard it, and knew; it wasn't reigns, that had been for Wraith, with Stratos he needed something to control his own power.

_He needed his staff_.

She stared at the tree, at the knothole that was too small for his hand, and despite the apprehension tightening her shoulders, she knew that was it. As she moved he finally turned back to her, wondering, grasping at her as she staggered to her feet and caught herself against the tree. He caught hold of her with a yell of surprise, leaping to his feet, wrapped an arm around her waist, but she plunged her hand inside the tree. Above them she felt the music winding louder, the breath taking pulse as the energy gathered again, and she pushed farther, up to her elbow into the seemingly endless tree, fingers grasping for something that felt right.

Light pulsed, sparked out from the pinpoint above them, the wind roared, and her fingertips just brushed something different, polished, engraved, hot to the touch, and she felt the magic shift. Stratos was tugging at her, half aware as he continued to stare up at the sky with the storm in his eyes.

"Aurora - m-move away ..... move away b-before... the lightening!!"

" _No! I've almost... got.... it...!"_

She shook her head, scraped her skin on the bark of the tree, felt the blood well against the sting as she took a breath and reached as far as she could. Her fingers curled around the edges of the thing, slipped, and overhead she heard the pop, the sonic crack as the lightening gathered in a final burst of terrifying heat and power and came slamming down towards them. She closed her hand around the wood, looked up with a gasp, and twined her free hand with his as her world went white.

She flinched at the loud crack, the splintering wood flying by with sparks of fire and heat, and finally, finally when there was no pain, no burn or hurt, she looked up, realized she had turned into Stratos. His arm was around her shoulders, holding her closely, having tried to protect her at least a little, and he was staring behind her with lightening in his eyes. She twisted to see, a gasp of shock leaving her as she saw it too. The tree had completely split, perfectly down the center, laid in two giant curls of smoking wood. And in the center stood a tall white staff, tipped with a piece of metal that was twisted into some intricate design. It was polished silver, and it glowed white hot with the heat it held, but the most amazing thing was that lightening ran from the clouds down to the pointed tip, arcing in dazzling displays as it danced back and forth. She stared at it, then turned to Stratos, who shook his head and blinked furiously, finally focusing on her once more. 

She started to smile, lifted the staff from the ground, and the lightening gave a final zap of hair raising power before snaking back to the clouds above them. It began to coalesce again, building up in the circling storm above them. Then she offered him the staff. 

He stared at her in shock, looked at the staff with surprise, with hesitation as he automatically reached for it and paused, took in a deep breath, looked at her again questioningly, seeking reassurance. The music crowded around them, the wind howled, and finally he closed his hand around the staff. He stared at it, then let out a booming laugh, his other hand tightening on her shoulder as thunder rumbled across the skies in response, echoing him.

The music sang loud and clear, in a perfect harmony, a chorus of wild wind filling the air with a wondrous sound.

He lifted the staff, pointed it towards the skies, and lightening poured down from the heavens in spitting, arcing, dangerous fury, slammed into the end of the staff, and disappeared with another bone rattling roar of thunder. He stood taller, wind shipping around them, and circled the staff overhead, wielding it as if he'd done it his entire life. The clouds followed the movement as if he'd stirred them by hand, and he pointed, then barked a command. 

Like it had been with Wraith, everything instantly obeyed. Wind whipped around them, everything swirled in one last screaming whirlwind, pulling back in as they clung together and hid their faces.

Then all was silent save for the soft tinkling of bells, replaced by the patter of rain and crackling of torch fire.

When she pried open her eyes, she stood with her face against Stratos's chest, his arm around her shoulders, one of hers around his waist, and her other hand just below his on the staff. She straightened like a whip with a gasp as he breathed out a sigh of relief, looking around.

They were back.

Around them, the four Sidhe who'd held the circle were wide eyed with stunned disbelief. She let go of Stratos with shaky hands, stepping back, automatically reaching for Tristan, who dropped the circle instantly. He caught her hand and pulled her close, gave her a spine popping hug, and buried his face against her hair for just a moment, enough that she felt the tremor run under his skin.

He'd been afraid for her.

She pulled back, gave him a pointed look, and turned back to see Stratos holding the staff with a strange reverence, both hands cradling it as he stared at it with those awestruck eyes. Her voice came out hoarse, almost a croak, but she managed to speak.

"S-Stratos, are y-you okay?"

He looked at her, nodded, then looked back down at the staff as if in a daze. Wraith and Sine stepped around, looking just the same, and Boreas moved up to see.

"Is that... the Staff of Taran??"

She glanced at each of them as they stared in obvious shock, and she tried really hard to remember where she'd heard that before. Tristan suddenly grabbed her upper arms and held her back, looking at her with wide eyes, on the verge of panicking she thought. He shook her once as she blinked owlishly at him.

"Where did you get that? How? What happened?"

She gaped at him, but stumbled over a quick answer. Had she fucked up and just thought she did good?

"I-I just, I unlocked his powers like I did Wraiths-"

"She what?!"

"A-and the staff thingie was there!"

She glanced back at Boreas, hearing his half whispered incredulous question, and didn't know what to say.

"Why did something like this not happen with Wraith? He did not-"

"Well there were these reigns of fire with him and I just figured they weren't real and disappeared and I figured the staff would too but..."

They all turned to look at Wraith who jerked in surprise and started shaking his head wildly.

"Hey hey I do not-"

"Have you tried to use these.. powers she unlocked since then? Tried to call the reigns to you?"

Wraith stared at Boreas as if he were crazy, then scoffed and held up both hands, palms up, and curled them into fists,

"Oh yes because I just thought they would-"

She gasped and heard the music spike just as the air around his palms glittered, sparked, and dark shadows flickered into existence in his hands. They all stared as two black sticks appeared, ornately decorated in silver designs, and from each end appeared ropes of fire that glowed with a ghostly light, trailing off into nothingness, almost insubstantial. But from the edges of the room came the pad of feet, the slither of something moving across the ground, the dry rustle of scales.

Wraith paled, and she looked around, raised a hand to wave merrily at the shadows that were thicker, darker, and filled with flickering yellow eyes that matched Wraiths which had begun to glow. The others all went perfectly still, Boreas giving her an incredulous look as she waved at the monsters in the dark. Tristans hands tightened compulsively on her arms as one of them moved closer, brushed a phantom hand that was gnarled and too long to be humanoid against the palm of her hand in greeting. Wraith made a strangled noise and clapped his hands together to dispel the reigns. All of it disappeared with a soft puff of wind, and they turned back to him.

"Th-that was... those were... I did not..."

"Those were.. Arwan's Reigns, were they not?"

Wraith paled, again, and looked as if he might pass out. She moved towards him and Tristan let her go, watching as she caught him when he swayed. He instantly turned to her and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in the bend of her shoulder. She shushed him, looked over his head at Tristan and Stratos, who still looked thunderstruck but were recovering slowly, at Sine who just seemed surprised, and then at Boreas. He crossed his arms and sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"I believe Sareindiel was right, but not nearly as much as she realized."

She stared at him a moment and then flushed at it clicked, almost squawking at him indignantly.

"Hey! M'not-!!”

"No flower, but you certainly... attract the most unexpected situations. I believe we have a long explanation ahead of us, Uncle Boreas, if we could all have a seat again..."

Boreas looked at her again, lips twitching, and she stuck her tongue out at him, making him chuckle as he nodded at Tristan. She nudged Wraith, who was slowly calming down again, thinking about the dragons words, and then Iridius's too.

_"You may yet have your hands full with this one." From Sareindiel, laughing at Tristan after her congratulations on them becoming 'consorts'_.   
She snorted.   
But then Iridius's ....  
 _"You are his rock right now, do not fail him._ "

She looked down at Wraith, sighed, and threaded her fingers through his hair. She would work with him, so that he could call those things, control his power, without it sending him into a panic attack.

"It's okay Wraith, I'll help you with it later, okay? For now, let's go sit down with the others..."

She kept her voice a low murmur, soft, and as he nodded hesitantly, she felt that determination solidify inside her chest, the protective streak she had for her friends rising up. She wouldn't fail any of them damnit.  
  
  


*~*~*~ Meanwhile, back in the Solar Room of the Seelie Sithen.....

Zaltheim snapped his head up as the door to the room cracked open, shuffling his wings, ready to fly at a moments notice if -

But no, it was only the scholar, the one Aurora trusted and had sent him to find.

He settled, cocking his head curiously as the pale Sidhe moved closer, smiling a little at him. He took it as a welcome sign, for he had already noticed in his short time around the scholar that his facial expressions were not so avid or easy to read as Aurora's were. He shook off the thought as Iridius pressed his hands together and gave him a short half bow, which he inclined his head to, although he was unsure why the Sidhe continued to do it every time, and watched him sit down in the chair across the table from him.

"I know you have been here a full day now, but please have patience with us... we will have the missive ready to return by in the morning.. the king has simply been busy with a great many things and wishes to speak with you in person... ah, as best he can, before he finishes his letter to his son. Will that be acceptable?"

Zaltheim stared at the scholar oddly, wondering if the old Sidhe had been hearing the music for too long and it had addled his brain. But finally he nodded and ruffled his feathers, watching as the scholar sighed in obvious relief.

"Thank you... ah, are you hungry? Can I get you something to eat?"

Iridius stood, eyes flashing as he smiled expectantly. Zaltheim blinked at him and finally heaved a sigh before nodding again. Iridius practically clapped his hands, whirling to move away before freezing and looking back.

"Our stories.. you eat apples, yes?"

Iridius seemed to wilt slightly as Zaltheim turned his head to look at him with one eye, half narrowed, before dipping his beak in yet another nod.

"Then I small return momentarily!"

 

 

When the scholar finally returned, not too long later, Zaltheim perked up from his conversation with the King to look. Aurii had entered not moments after the scholars departure, and had been going on about a great many things. Most of which centered upon the Prince and his human consort. The King, while still seeming worried for his son, seemed a bit ill with him at the same time, perhaps for the sudden decision about the human becoming his consort, and the not telling him of the decision before the announcement to the courts.

/ _Surely there is more to it than that, the King seems far too worried about the prospects of Aurora's magics. But I sense no such reservations from the scholar..._ /

Iridius came up and sat down a copper bowl filled with several apples just next to him with a flourish, and the king trailed off in his long winded speech to speak to the scholar. Zaltheim took the opportunity to bend down and snap up one of the apples, tossing it up into the air and catching it in his beak with a resounding crunch as the powerful jaws bit into it. He ate it, whole, with just a few snaps of his beak, and bent down for the next one, pausing to quizzically eye the two Sidhe who were gazing at him in silence, and looked slightly pale. 

"/ _What?_ /"

They both jumped, and he sighed irritably, remembering yet again that they could only understand his words as something like 'SQUAWK'. 

/ _Such a pain that they simply cannot understand my words..._ /

Both Sidhe turned back to each other quickly, pointedly ignoring him then while he ate several of the apples, speaking between themselves until he was obviously through. He spoke to gain their attention again, settling his wings once when they turned back to him. Aurii gave him a relieved smile, leaning up with his elbows on the table, those starburst eyes fading to a serious look that had Zaltheim pausing to meet his gaze.

/ _What was this now?_ /

"Phoenix, I have finished this missive for you to take back to my son and his consort... but I request that you stay until in the morning at least. I may change my mind about some of the things I am sending by you.. it is merely that I worry by some unforseen circumstance that someone else could intercept the missive and be privvy to the secrets of our inner circle that do not need to be public knowledge just yet. We must tell the people, especially after this rescuing of the unborn infant, and now the situation with the mother dragon, Sareindiel, and you. Enough Sidhe will hear of it one way or another, and we do not need to be caught keeping such as this from them, else they will think we hide terrible things, or important things, and we do not. I am, in fact, quite truthful with my subjects, and I do not wish them thinking otherwise. But you see, so much has happened so fast.. and it is all so uncertain... I have been waiting on something concrete, and some way to explain to them. Every time I think I know..."

Aurii swiped a hand down his face with a tired laugh.

"Each time I think I know, or understand, some other great mystery is unraveled, and then I must change it yet again... do you understand my hesitation?"

Zaltheim met the kings gaze, thinking of his words, and slowly nodded.

/ _I believe I do. His people would think he lied if he told them one thing, and then had to change the story several times.. there will be.. disbelief in the explaining of this no matter what I would think, but I believe I understand his hesitation.._ /

Aurii looked relieved.

"Good. Then here, I shall give you this missive, it is sealed by my hand, with my crest. I may not change it again... but I want a bit more time to be well aware of my decisions, I suppose. On the morrow I shall return and either give you the go ahead, or a new missive. If I am unable to come myself, simply carry that one and any other Iridius gives you, if you would? Just make sure they receive that. It is very important."

Zaltheim stared at him, feeling the feathers along his back trying to raise like one of the wolves as they bristled. / _Why? Did the king suspect something would happen, or-_ /

"He simply means if he is busy with cases early on the morrow, which would keep him from returning first thing."

Zaltheim turned at the scholars words and reassuring smile, but at a quick glance toward the King, and those serious fire colored eyes, he wondered.

 

Aurii and Iridius bade him goodnight, after seeing that he had all he wished for, leaving him a single warm light on near his perch on the table. Zaltheim moved over to the rather large nest, padded with a silken robe, that the scholar had carefully built him so that he could be comfortable. He would not have left the solar room, and was glad they did not try to get him too; he did not know this place, and being an old creature he had learned caution many years ago at the hands of curious, or greedy, Sidhe. In this place he could get away from such treachery or attack, were there any. 

But for now, he was mildly tired, and he bent to drop the scroll into his nest before settling over it, clasping it in both his talons, and shifting around until he was comfortable. With the glow from his feathers, and the nearby lamp, not to mention the moon light streaming in as the pale orb moved steadily higher, he could see the rest of the room rather well. As he tucked his beak under his wing after a snapping yawn, he had a simple thought.

/ _Perhaps I could come back and let Aurora and Tristan show me the wonders of this court. There is much knowledge in this one room alone... it would be interesting to explore further..._ /

 

 

Zaltheim jerked up, wide awake as his wings whipped out straight with a snap, the fire flaring to a bright glow in the near dark instantly. Just outside the solar room a female squeaked in shock, whirling around with wide bright eyes, obviously surprised. He stared at her, slowly lowering his wings with a huff of breath, shaking once to soothe his extremely ruffled feathers. 

_Damn if she hadn't startled him_.

She came around to one of the archways, bare feet whispering over the ground, in a simple silk night robe of pale blue. She had curling white blond hair, and was beautiful, with the sun gold skin of the Seelie Sidhe they preferred so much.

"Do forgive me Phoenix, I did not mean to disturb you from your slumber. I was... well, my mind worries itself into oblivion over my son and husband with all that goes on, especially with this news you bring that could affect most of our people...it seems slumber escapes me this night, and I sought the soothing embrace of the moon.."

As she drew closer, stopping a few feet away, he saw her eyes that were so bright, blue, pink, and yellow, like springtime wildflowers in the hills. He closed his talons over the scroll underneath him again, checking that it was undisturbed. As he continued to stare at her, she suddenly flushed and held up the edges of her dress, dipping her head in a slight curtsy.

"I forget sometimes, after all these years, that all creatures no longer know me on sight. I am Morrigan, Queen of the Seelie, wife of high king Aurii, and mother of Prince Tristan."

Zaltheim's eyes widened as comprehension dawned as to why this female had been alright with entering the solar room without permission from the scholar, and how she'd known about him. So he inclined his head, watching her as she smiled at him, warm and open, obviously a Sidhe with powers of the springtime he thought, and wondered why it was he had such an odd feeling toward her. 

"Well, I shall return to my walk.. perhaps I can return to bed soon and get some rest. Safe travels to you friend, and I thank you for bringing the missive to us from my son."

Zaltheim inclined his head to her, watched her, unblinking, as she walked away and disappeared into the moonlight and shadows.

He would not sleep again this night.

 

 

-*-*-*-*-*- At the UnSeelie Sithen:

 

"So you see Uncle, why we have kept such... well, such unusual news to ourselves thus far. We have not much way to explain it, nor do I know how exactly to explain it to the people... So much has happened so fast it has been nigh impossible to speak with my father at any length about how to handle the situation."

They all looked at her, and she blinked wide, innocent eyes at them. Tristan, Boreas, and Stratos all snorted in unison, and Sine sighed in exasperation. Wraith simply halfway smiled, but he was still a bit out of it. Still shaken up. He was sitting next to her, pressed from knee to hip against her side, and although he was listening to the conversation, he continued to stare at his hands, curled in his lap. 

Aurora didn't much know what to be able to do for him right now. She wished she did.

"So first it was Wraith here, and then Stratos... and you've given each of them a relic of power at the unlocking of their magic.. how-"

"No, _I_ did not give them anything."

They all turned to her, and several pairs of eyebrows lifted towards the ceiling. She sighed.

"I did not have these things to give, I didn't know of their existence... I just... s-something kind of... guides me and... I just follow it... Stratos said he'd dreamed of the place we were before!"

The captain nodded, still looking a bit uncomfortable as he curled his hands around the staff he held protectively across his lap.

"Yes, I have. I do not remember them specifically really, I just know I have. I still cannot believe that none of you saw anything at all."

She nodded, staring at them intently.

"Me either.. I mean so much was going on..."

Tristan shook his head, reaching out to cover her hand with his.

"I am sorry flower... all we saw were the two of you. Your eyes were unfocused, and there was wind about you... but other than that, we only saw when you began to move."

"To move?"

"Yes, when you lifted your hand, reaching for something, when you stood, when he caught you.. when you moved your physical bodies, we saw that."

The others nodded, and resumed talking between Stratos and Tristan for a moment. She glanced over at Boreas, whose dark eyes watched her intently, and she knew, in that same voice in her head that sent chills down her spine, that he'd seen more than the others. 

But why? And what?

And where in the HELL was this damned knowledge coming from?!!

 

 

Once again, she could not damned sleep.

She groaned in pure 'n' simple frustration and flailed on the bed, disrupting the covers and pummeling the mattress until she felt better. Then she sat up, snarling and muttering under her breath as she swung her feet off the bed and stood, hair in wild disarray, and stomped over to the bathroom. When she reemerged she had adjusted the nightgown she wore, a simple white thing with no sleeves, cinched at the top and falling to the floor with light layers, all some weirdly soft material, and she was consistently finger combing her unruly hair into some manageable sight. While not tiptoeing, just moving quietly in the semi dark she emerged into the main room and padded over to the counter where there were still cool drinks. She threw back the first one, refilling it once more with a pleased sigh. 

She'd been a lot more thirsty than she thought, and a little bit of cold water seemed like the perfect damned solution. This cup she nursed a bit longer, walking around the room and studying the tapestries, the statues and things that decorated it, and finally plopped down onto the couch with a sigh. She glanced around at the other doors, all closed, thinking for a moment of waking one of the guys up or crawling into bed with Tristan, for entirely innocent reasons, and telling him to use his elf magic to put her to sleep. They all probably could truthfully, but she didn't like to have to do that. And she was a bit self conscious to just bust up in their rooms in the middle of the night; despite the fact that the customs were different here and unless she made such a thing painfully obvious, it wouldn't be anything at all, some habits were a little harder to break than others.

Even if she glanced at Tristan's door more than once.

She frowned and thumped her head back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling; she decided to leave that as a last resort. Instead, she closed her eyes, opened her ears, and let the music flow in around her. It tended to soothe her most of the time, and she thought of the conversation earlier about the entire fiasco in the chambers upstairs. Which were entirely her fault.

But at least nothing bad had come of it.

The king was completely with Tristan on all the personal ideas he had towards the kingdom, the changes and fixes, the differences he wanted to make when he became High King. In fact, the longer Boreas had listened to Tristan wax poetic about his plans, the more enraptured he had become with his nephews ideas. He loved them. And since it was the first she'd heard him openly speak of these things, despite that she had been drawing the wobbly lines between several mysteries on her own, she'd done the same thing. He had been so... passionate, so excited.

The more he had talked, and he'd seen that Boreas, and her, had been on board with what he spoke of, the more freely he'd spoken. His blue eyes had lit up, throwing sparks, face flushed with a wide grin as he gestured and spoke so eloquently, and again, she had no other word for the feelings he gave off as he punctuated each point and every example, every change, with wild extravagant gestures, he had just been so passionate about it all. It had all been politics, in a way, things he wanted to change for the better. Boreas had asked why had he not heard of his nephews beliefs and ideas already. Tristan had wilted, slumped back into his seat with a soul weary sigh, and before he turned that glance to the outside, looking miles away and years ago, she'd seen the pain there. But also the spark of determination, pride. He'd said that when he brought the ideas up to his father before, he'd been punished, because the talk had come to a fight, then to blows.

His father wanted no such part of his wild ideas. Boreas had nodded, understanding, sympathetic; she'd been horrified. Aurii had seemed so nice, so jovial, how could he punish his own son for having a different view than he did?

But she would speak to Tristan about it when the time was right, later, alone.

So they had said they would all keep it between them, that only a few outside of that room knew of his feelings, his ideas, his plans. That had made her curious. She figured Iridius would know, and obviously the King did somewhat, although Tristan had said he'd never finished the conversation, nor brought it up again. She had to wonder who else knew.

Either way, on the same track, Boreas had been amazed by her powers, and intrigued. She had been fully on with Tristan's idea that, should she become a bit more in control of her powers, at least more capable perhaps so that she didn't keep doing crazy shit by accident, that maybe she could try to call Boreas's magic and see if there was anything she could do for his. She was certainly intimidated by the thought, Stratos's had been difficult, at first, because of his level of power before she'd done anything, and the king's made his look like childs play. At least to her. Maybe she was just still a bit awestruck by him, who knew. She would try though, at some point. She didn't mind. Boreas was wide eyed and surprised at the offer, and was excited. He'd certainly forgiven them for their silence up to that point, he'd even said he'd have done the same thing himself. She wondered though what his power would be like-

What was that?!

She sat up slowly, turning her head to listen, and knew good and well that she could hear something like a violin. Some thread of music was winding through the air, soft and sinuous, lilting through the air and curling into her ears. She pushed to her feet, lips parting, turning in place to try to find the direction it was coming from. It was calling her, that much she knew, maybe not purposely, but she had to know where it was coming from.

And whether it was someone's music, or someone playing it on an instrument. 

She moved all around the room, and was satisfied rather quickly that it wasn't coming from any of the guys rooms. She knew their music, but when she had her magic ears on so to speak, she couldn't always tell the difference between real music and that of a persons own magical sound. She hadn't enough practice she thought. When she moved back toward the door to the hallway it was a bit louder, easier to hear, but it was still faint. With her hand on the doorknob she hesitated, looked back and wondered if she should wake up someone to go with her. She did tend to get in trouble on her own...

The music changed a little, slowed down, and she felt her heart twist.

No, she would be fine. She just wanted to see where it was coming from. She wouldn't start any fights or wander around and pick up any baby animals or anything. 

So she moved quietly out into the hallway, closed the door behind her, took a few steps in one direction and paused to listen. Then she moved in the other direction, nodding when it grew louder and continuing that way. Something crept up her back, a feeling, and she turned to see. Nobody was in the hallway with her, just her and the shadows of the night, the glimmer of moonlight through the archways. She sighed out a breath of relief and smiled, then turned to continue on and find the source of the music.

It took some wandering, really it had, but she'd followed it up to the top floor, and was nearing the room they had all been in earlier. The one full of the hanging satin, and the big windows out over the forest, where they'd had dinner with Boreas and stayed most of the night. She was a breath from turning around as she peeked around the corner, looking inside, because she thought it could be the king, or someone thee with him and it was something personal she shouldn't intrude on. Why hadn't that occurred to her before she started being so nosy?

Then the wind picked up, blew in a soft, autumn filled breath that sent all of the cloth walls parting and fluttering, and she could see straight through to the far window, past the table they'd sat at, and the big archway beyond it. The music softened yet again, hauntingly beautiful, but so achingly sad that it brought tears to her eyes. It was in fact a lone figure, sat with his back against the side of the archway, one leg bent, the other hanging off the three story drop, bent slightly over the Sidhe version of a violin. They were almost the same, but built differently, more with aesthetics in mind than functionality, but they crooned the most beautiful sounds.

This one spoke of loneliness. She knew the feeling rather well.

She told herself she would only offer some company, at least for a while, and if it was obviously not wanted she would go back to bed. The wind died down, leaving the curtains to falling again, and she moved forward, slipping through the maze toward the sound of the music. She paused one last time at the last curtain, still hidden from view, to take a deep breath and try one more time to talk herself out of being nosey, but at the sound of the music, the call, the ache she could hear in it, she couldn't.

Instead she pushed aside the curtain, and got her first real look at the man who was playing.

He was tall she thought, lean, with those black harem pants the men seemed to favor sleeping in here, except they didn't cinch around his ankles, they were bell legged and fell over the tops of his bare feet. He wore only an open, sleeveless black vest as a top, matching the bottom of that soft cotton like material. She'd thought it was Boreas at first, they were built similarly, but it couldn't be. This Sidhe had darker olive skin with brown and gold streaked hair that lifted and curled around him on the breeze. He had the pointed ears that bespoke mixed blood, and all of this was completely unlike the king. 

His head was tilted, holding the violin under his chin on his shoulder, hands playing it with a skill that belied an old comfort of many years, eyes closed as he was lost to the music. A memory resurfaced, and it clicked: she did know him, he'd been the Sidhe who had danced with her at the servants party! She couldn't help it as she took a step forward, one hand on her chest over her heart, the other up holding her hair back behind her ear as she dropped the cloth behind her, and whispered his name.

"Aquilon..."

His eyes snapped open, three circles of blue, one dark as midnight, one the depths of the sea, and one the glint of a sapphire as he whipped his head up to see her, nearly dropping the bow as the music abruptly stopped.

"A-Aurora! I ah... I....."

She smiled, gentle and reassuring she hoped, warm, and moved forward slowly as he watched her. He looked like he'd been caught doing something terrible and he feared she would dropkick him out of the window.

"That was beautiful, why didn't you play at the party the other night..?"

He watched her, slowly calming down as she moved to sit across from him in the archway, putting her back against the wall, folding her legs. She was brave, terribly so to sit here since she hated heights with a passion, but if she didn't dangle off the edge or look down she'd be fine. Right.

He looked down as he lay the instrument in his lap, eyeing the black and silver designs, the polished surface as he traced a finger across it, and sighed so deep that she thought he may have brought it from the depths of his toes.

"I do not.. play for others much.. it is simply a pastime, one could say.."

"I could leave, if you want-"

"No! I... ah.."

He flushed, lowering the hand he'd jerked up as he blurted out the abrupt negative, and dropped his eyes.

"I mean no, you do not have to go... you are not.. you are fine..."

She waited a heartbeat, but finally nodded, settling again and curling her hands in her lap.

"Alright, if you're sure... I could hear you playing in my rooms-"

"Forgive me! I did not mean to wake you-"

She huffed a laugh at his wide eyed, almost frantic look and shook her hand with a dismissing wave of her hand. She wondered, a little oddly, why he was acting so....strangely.

"No darlin, I didn't say you woke me. I couldn't sleep anyway, and I didn't even hear it until I got up for a glass of water... I was just curious where it came from."

His lips twitched. "So you decided to wander the sithen in the middle of the night and find the source, all by yourself, hmm?"

Her own lips quirked as she flushed this time, dropping her head sheepishly.

"Yeah, sort of. But it'll be okay..."

They sat there a few moments in comfortable silence, and finally she looked up, catching him watching her curiously, and he looked away.

"I didn't mean to invade on your personal time. You don't have to stop playing on my account, it really was beautiful. I've always had a soft spot for violins and such.."

He started to frown, opening his mouth, and she laughed softly. "Yes I know, that's just what they're called where I'm from..."

His eyes lit with understanding, and he nodded with a small smile.

"Can you play?"

"Oh good lord no. Tried a few times... but its not my thing unfortunately. I can play piano a bit though.."

She mimicked the movements with her hands, and he nodded with a sudden smile.

"Ah! Then.. I shall play for you, if you promise to play something for me on.. a piano."

She laughed as he stumbled over the unfamiliar word, but nodded.

"Alright, you've got a deal. I'm not as good as you, so I think you're getting the shit end of this deal though..."

He just winked, picking up the instrument again and tucking it under his chin, long hands curling delicately around the lines, holding up the bow as his eyes slid closed. He drew out one long note, then dissolved into another melody, one lighter than the last, that brought an instant smile to her face. It was much happier. She noticed as he played that he began to sway with it, a soft curve of his lips as he immersed himself in it, showing the difference between now and before. She listened quietly to the entire song, clapping softly as he finished and he looked at her with a mildly shy grin. 

"Awesome dude, like seriously. That was great."

"Ah.. thank you..I believe that is a compliment in your strange tongue, is it not?"

She blinked at him in surprise, then laughed, reaching out to swat him on the arm playfully.

"Yes you wretch it was! Don't make fun of my strange native tongue either!"

He laughed, relaxing back against the wall and dropping the instrument into his lap.

"Sorry princess...I could not help it."

She slumped back and crossed her arms, rolling her eyes with a laugh.

"Yeah right, whatever.."

He grinned, eyes dancing, and they fell into another moment of silence. She found it was easy to do with him. Sliding her eyes back to him, then away again, she started talking, noticing he turned to face her as she did.

"So, you know, I remembered something later about your name... once I wasn't under the influence of Elvin liqueur anymore."

His lips quirked up, and he leaned forward, bending his arm over his knee and propping his chin there.

"What did you remember?"

"That in my world, it was the Roman equivalent to the name Boreas."

He went still, and she turned back to him, smiling, easy.

"Isn't that strange?"

He licked his lips and nodded, looking down and away.

"So I do have a question for you..."

"What is it?"

"You're acting differently tonight than you have what little I've been around you.. can you tell me why?"

She mimicked him curling her arms around her knees, propping her chin on them, and tilting her head to the side, watching him intently.

"I... well... honestly?"

"I would prefer it, unless you don't want to tell me.."

He looked own, seeming into slump in on himself.

"You are...different. You are easy to talk to.. to be around... to truly be myself around I should say. I cannot most of the time.. and I envy the friendship you have with the prince and his guards.. you do not treat them differently because of their rank."

She stared at him, waiting to gather her thoughts as nearly a hundred things clicked into place like jigsaw pieces. Suddenly it made perfect sense.

"So... would you like me to be your friend then? Like that? I am sure they would be too..."

He whipped his head up, wide eyed, and looked so shocked that she started to smile.

"What? You would... you would simply... just because..."

"Of course. I like you, and I see no reason not too. Of course, I've been friends with them longer, been through more with them, and Tristan is my consort, so there will be differences of course, I haven't known you nearly as long.. but of course!"

He stared at her, face sliding into a look of frustrated confusion.

"I do not understand... but why?"

Her smile turned soft, warmer; the poor thing looked so lost.

"Because everyone needs friends, nobody deserves to be lonely. Do you think just because you're the King of the UnSeelie that you can't have friends?"

He dropped his head.

"It would seem they all do, but -"

His head snapped up as he stammered, going red, dropping the violin to hold up his hands and stutter out a protest.

"Wh-what?! No n-no I am - do you not see me? I look nothing like-"

She raised an eyebrow, continuing to watch him in silence and he trailed off, blinking as he lowered his hands, looking down at himself disgustedly.

"You knew?"

She laughed, a light hearted sound, and he peered at her in astonishment.

"Well, the morning after, in front of Sareindiel, I noticed you did something that make me think of the other mysterious sidhe I had danced and talked with the night before. Once I could remember it more clearly I thought about it, and was suspicious. But then you threw out a few clues as if you wanted me to know, being in on a few of the jokes from that night you wouldn't have known about otherwise had you not been there. Like you wanted to see if I would catch on or not..."

His lips twitched, smile curling up at one side ruefully.

"I thought so... and then tonight cemented it. You had that same lonely air about you, the one hidden behind the smiles that I've caught a glimpse of..."

He hung his head again and huffed a laugh.

"Right... well... I meant no harm by it... you see I am...well, you have seen the way the people treat me, as if afraid to come near me, befriend me.. like they fear my power or wrath, or they simply want something. It makes for..."

"A lonely existence."

He nodded, propping his chin on his knees again, and she watched as the glamour melted away, like rain pouring down a glass. He was suddenly the UnSeelie king again, ravens black hair, moonlight skin, and those metallic eyes that captured her.

"Much better if you ask me."

He actually flushed a little, looking down with a small self conscious smile.

"Thank you princess."

She laughed, and he finally looked at her, a bit more confidence in his gaze, shoulders straightening.

"You're very welcome. I won't blow your cover to the others, if you don't want me too...."

"Thank you, again.. if it were I do not think they would allow me back at the best parties anymore."

She snickered, and waited a moment, thinking.

"So, you want me to treat you like one of the guys... Really like one of them? You know I beat them up and wrestle with them all the time...call them names, all that."

He laughed, that deep rolling sound like distant thunder, and she grinned.

"Yes. I do."

"All the time? Even in front of your court?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, mulling it over, then nodded with a mischievous grin.

"Yes. Even then."

She couldn't help the laugh, and nodded. "Alright, but that means when you're a smartass I get to be one too. I'll call you on it."

His eyes sparked with a challenge, glinting in the moonlight.

"We shall see if you back up your threats princess. You and the others are to come to the courts in the morning as we convene, so that we may break our fast together afterwards. The court is in only long enough for anyone to come up and bring up any damages from the storm or problems that cannot wait, and should not take even an hour. I do not think you will act on your promise in front of the court."

"Are you - whyyy youuuuuuu.... alright, alright I see. Its on like donkey Kong now. Just you wait."

He brayed out a laugh, and shook his head.

"I have no idea what that means, but I am sure that I am most excited to find out."

She would show him.

 

 

They spent the next hour talking, and he noticed her yawning suddenly.

"Perhaps you should retire princess, it is far past your bedtime."

She stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh, but she took his hand as he stood and offered her help up. She brushed off her gown and looked at him just a moment, then moved forward and wrapped him in a hug. He went stiff, surprised, arms flaring up as if he were afraid and unsure what to do. But she held on for another moment until he tentatively lowered his arms and closed them around her, dropping his chin on the top of her head with a sigh. Finally she moved back, smiling up at him, and he shook his head ruefully.

"Perhaps I have gained more out of this bargain than I thought."

She put her fingertips against his stomach and shoved him lightly, huffing a laugh as he looked surprised then grinned.

"Yeah yeah yeah. I'm going to bed. I guess I'll see you at breakfast then."

He stepped back, bowing with a flourish.

"Good night then my lady. Till the morrow."

"Good night Boreas, weird ass."

His chuckle followed her out into the hallway, and she padded slowly back towards their rooms. She stopped, halfway down the hallway on the second floor, pausing to look around. When she saw no other sidhe present, she started to smile, holding her hand up and out.

"Would you have stood there waiting all night?"

The wind slithered through the hall, sending the whisper of leaves rustling, and the shadows shifting with the light dancing through them across the floors from the archways. Nothing else moved. She laughed, soft and warmly amused.

"Come on now darlin, I know you're there.."

She was glad she'd made the gesture vague, only having known a direction of a couple feet where he was when the shadows gathered and a tall, pale, muscled Sidhe emerged. His jet black hair followed behind him like tendrils of shadow reluctant to part from the rest, finally falling around him as he ducked his head sheepishly, cheeks flushing as he smiled.

"How long did you know I was there?"

She hummed in her throat, wiggling her fingers again as he peeked up at her, oddly boyish, and finally started forward. The shadows seemed less without him she thought, waiting until he grabbed her hand, pulling him close and looping their arms together as she turned them back towards their rooms.

"When you followed me out of our rooms...."

He glanced down at her in surprise, black and yellow eyes widening in mild surprise.

"Don't ask me, I don't really know how... I just knew. I think I can tell where you are most times... if I listen."

He nodded, tilting his head as he thought about it, their steps strangely in sync as they walked down the silent hallways.

"Could be useful... I like that."

She laughed, dropped her head against his arm to smile up at him impishly. They walked a few moments in silence, and finally his voice rumbled under her ear.

"So... are you truly going to treat the king as a friend, like you do us?"

She hummed again, thinking about how to answer.

"Yes and no. Like I told him, I'm closer to y'all, he would have to be around a while, earn his place I guess you could say. But yeah... I am. But it wont make any difference between the lot of us, it just means another friend in the bunch."

His smile was relieved as he ducked his head a little.

"I did not want to show myself for a moment, I feared you would be mad with me...."

"What? No. I felt safer knowing you were there watching out for me... thank you for that Wraith..."

He flushed a little, lips curling in a pleased smile.

"Of course princess."

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

Belle helped her get ready for the day, once again, despite Aurora's assurances that she could certainly dress herself. The smiling maid brushed away her concerns, helping her to lace up the corset styled dress. It was a soft rose color, edged in layers of champagne, with pale blue ribbon lacing up the front of the corset top, the bones in the top giving her some bit of support and her poor back relief. Hell she hadn't kept her back this straight for this many hours since she was dancing. 

She snorted at the thought, looking down and ruffling the layered skirt which was a combination of all three colors, grinning at the huff of exasperation from Belle who was fussing over getting it to lay just right.

"Oh Belle its fine! Damnit woman ignore it!"

Belle looked scandalized and she laughed, walking off as she shook out her hair and ruffled it with her hands to set it free again. Belle liked to comb it until it was shining and lay it in a particular way, she would bet she wouldn't ever convince the maid that her hair didn't work like that. Hers moved, was light and much more free, it didn't get 'styled' it just fell where it wanted to. And she was okay with that.

"Its fiiiiiiiiiine Belle I promise, if they aren't used to my primitive woman antics and looks by now they never will be."

Belle snorted, shaking her head as she walked over and opened the door, leading Aurora out into the main room where the others waited.

"I will take your word for it my lady."

They both turned as Tristan came up, reaching out to take her hand and bow over it with a flourish. She giggled, damnit all to hell she actually giggled, as he pressed a light kiss to the back of her hand and straightened up, giving her this half lidded look as he smiled warmly.

"Good morrow flower, beautiful as always..."

After his murmur Belle leaned over in an overly loud whisper, nudging Aurora with her shoulder.

"I think I may take your advice on this one after all my lady..."

Aurora brayed out a laugh as Tristan looked between them curiously, and Belle twirled on her heel, sashaying off with a small wave.

"Only call if you have need of me before lunch time my lady, my lord."

"Th-thank you Belle..."

She was still snickering as Tristan lifted a curious brow at her, tucking her hand into the bend of his arm as he lead her towards the door, past the grinning trio of guards. As they passed she stuck her tongue out at them, getting two extremely child-like faces made back at her behind the princes back, and a exasperated laugh from Sine. Tristan paused and looked back, to see both of them blinking big, innocent eyes at him.

"Come on Tristan, let's go see his kingship in the courts."

Tristan cut her a suspicious look, lips twitching as they all stepped into the hallway, and she beamed at him. He chuckled and rolled his eyes, making her grin.

"So, has anyone heard from Dainia this morning?"

Wraith gave a hum in his chest, and she turned to see him as they walked towards the court rooms.

"I believe the last agreed upon thing between her and the kings scholar, who she went with out of apparent interest to see all of the things he keeps in his solar rooms, was that she would be returning to find us this morning sometime during our breakfast with the king."

"Thank you Wraith."

"Of course Princess."

She glanced over to see Tristan eyeing her oddly.

"What?"

"What is with this 'princess' stuff that you have all started?"

There were several beats of silence, followed by matching completely innocent faces, even from Sine. Tristan's face went suspicious.

"I have no idea what you're talkin about."

"It is simply a new nickname for our lady."

"Yes we thought it fitting."

"Since she is your consort of course, my lord."

She batted her eyelashes at Tristan who snorted.

"Yeah, right."

 

 

When they arrived at the giant double doors that led into the UnSeelie courtroom, they paused, Tristan stepping up with a frown aimed back at the rest of them.

"I do not understand... they are already conducting the proceedings. He specifically told me this time yesterday, what could have happened? Now we are late."

He looked so dejected, huffing at the doors in exasperation, hands on his hips. Aurora turned a raised eyebrow to Wraith, sharing a suspicious look.

"Let's go in anyway Tristan, he's expecting us after all."

He turned back to look at her and nodded with a sigh. Sine and Stratos moved to stand in front of them, pushing open the doors quietly, walking in amidst the soft hum of voices of those in the crowd,and that of the king speaking to the lone Sidhe standing at the bottom of the dias. His courtroom was set up almost exactly like the Seelies', but Boreas was the big difference. He was outfitted like last night, but the pants and vest were decorated in gold, copper, and silver accents all around the hems. It still hung open as he sat sprawled across the throne, the black crown on his head again, still at the careless angle, hair tangled around him and over the throne itself. As they walked in he trailed off, straightening slowly, eyebrow lifting. Every single face in the courtroom turned to them, wide eyed, lips curling in mocking smiles. Boreas stood, hands on his hips as they paused, Sine and Stratos moving aside so she and Tristan could see him.

"You are late dear nephew."

Tristan cleared his throat, cheeks darkening, and opened his mouth to speak, looking down. Not a soul was watching him as Boreas shifted that metallic gaze to her, then grinned widely, sticking out his tongue in a face. Behind her Wraith snorted, and everyone looked up as he wiped his face back to arrogant fondness and spoke.

"It is fine dear nephew! Worry not, I am sure it is because your consort had to change her clothing as many times as most of the women do to get ready. It is of no consequence..."

He shrugged as titters erupted among the crowd, and Tristan stammered some reply that was completely lost on her while he caught on and tried desperately not to laugh. Behind her Wraith choked, as did Stratos, and her fists clenched as her cheeks burned. Oh she was fixing to get that son of a bitch so bad but-

Sine halfway turned from his position just in front of and beside her, and her eyes locked on something in his pocket. Surprise had her gaping and then grinning evilly. Tristan was completely out of the loop, Stratos watching her with a raised eyebrow and a grin, Wraith the same she was sure as she reached out and snatched the device from Sine. He whirled, blinking wide eyes at her, flushing guiltily as he smiled sheepishly.

"My lady that is-"

"I'm just gonna borrow this a minute. Stratos darling -"

Tristan frowned at her curiously as Boreas turned, facing his throne, back to the crowd while he picked back up in his speech to the Sidhe still waiting below the dias. He stood with feet apart, hands locked behind his back; the perfect target. Oh yeah, she was getting his ass.

Stratos leaned down curiously as she crooked her finger at him, whispering furiously in his ear. He leaned back slightly, wondering, but held up his hand and formed what she asked for, gingerly handing it over to her. She grinned wickidly, bringing up the borrowed toy from Sine and plopping the baseball sized thing into it as she pulled it back, stepping in front of the others. Tristan caught on just as she sighted down the bands, holding the slingshot with years of practice, aiming it, letting the snowball fly just as he reached for her to stop her. He watched helplessly as the snowball stayed together, thanks to Stratos's magic, and spun through the air until it smashed into the back of the King of the UnSeelie's head. 

The people gasped, all staring in slack jawed horror as he stumbled forward. The crown fell from his head and landed in the throne with a clatter as he caught himself, going still as snow made a pattern across the back of his head and dripped in melting drops down his hair and over his back. He straightened up, hand reaching up to touch the mess on the back of his head. 

Aurora lowered the slingshot, grinning triumphantly, waiting as he turned slowly, and the silence in the room was thick, horrified, and complete as they all waited on him to smite her on the spot. His face was thunderous, glittering gaze immediately locked in her, silent. She grinned proudly, spinning the slingshot around one finger and bringing it up to her lips to blow the imaginary smoke off of it. The people stared at her incredulously, unsure of how to proceed, and then Boreas started to chuckle. They all swung back to see him as he began to laugh, clapping a hand over his stomach as he laughed harder, bending over and catching the edge of the throne to hold himself up. The court seemed completely at a loss, like they feared he'd lost his mind. She pumped her fist in the air victoriously, tossed the slingshot toward Sine who caught it with a half smile and an exasperated shake of his head then darted on light feet up to the throne, still grinning. Even his guards were staring at her in shock, unsure of whether to attack her or what. He straightened a little as she came up to him, wiping the tears from his eyes, metallic gaze on her and dancing with shocked amusement.

"I did not think you would do it."

She heard his low mutter and threw back her head with a laugh.

"Well that's what you get! I told you! Now sit down and finish this damned court stuff I'm starving!"

He chuckled again and moved to fall back into his throne. She squeaked and caught his arm, halting him, making him look at her oddly. She tsked at him and laughed a little, reaching into the seat of the throne to pick up his crown and keep him from sitting on it.

"Look! You were going to crush your beautiful crown, and hurt your ass too!"

He twisted to see as she paused, her fingers just shy of the branches of the black crown, seeing up close that shadows like those that came to Wraith twisted in subtle designs around those trees. It was decorated with those same pumpkins and vines, diamond, rubies, and amethysts, and up close she realized that it held its own music. It sounded like Boreas's did, but softer, a low lullaby that curled around it. She froze, blinked once, and as her eyes closed, something flashed before her eyes.

As her lashes lifted, the sound of beating wings filled her ears, then pricks on both of her shoulders at the same time Boreas's hand latched onto her wrist. She straightened to see his eyes, so worried and almost panicked go relieved on a long blink, and him let out a long sigh.

/ _You must not touch the crown, it would destroy you._ /

/ _The wild power of fearie lives in the true crowns of the high kings, it is dangerous youngling._ /

She whipped her head to one side, following the familiar, feminine, lilting voice, to see Dainia was perched on her left shoulder, blue eyes somber as she dipped her dark beak in a nod. Then Aurora turned to see who the other voice belonged to, and was quite surprised to find herself looking into silken feathers spun from ebony, glittering with blue highlights, and ageless, ancient eyes. The raven, nearly the size of Dainia, was the King's companion, one she hadn't yet met formally.

And yet he'd also tried to stop her and protect her.

She whipped back to see Boreas as his hand tightened around her arm with a shake, seeing his face was flushed, and pale.

"You must be cautious! You nearly - you could have ...."

He hesitated, stopped with a bone weary sigh, and shook his head. His touch gentled, and he reached up to press his knuckles against her cheek.

"You shall give both I and Tristan early graves worrying for you, bursting headlong into things without knowing of them."

She looked down sheepishly, watching him as he scooped up his crown and dropped it back onto his head. Then he turned to the crowd, who she noted to her utter and complete embarrassment, for once, were all on their feet, in deathly silence,looking utterly terrified. He held up his hand, and spoke to them in a soft tone.

"It is alright, she did not know of the danger, she is still learning our ways, and she was stopped in time. Now, let us adjourn for the morning, and continue our celebrations!"

The people all shared relieved looks and nervous laughter, but gave him a small cheer and milled about while they all began talking at once. And fortunately leaving.

Tristan and the men were pushing to the front, looking relieved and harried, and she turned to Boreas, who had yet to drop her wrist.

"I'm sorry Boreas I didn't know..."

He turned back to her with surprise, letting out a laugh as he let go and pulled her into a one armed hug, making the raven squawk indignantly for being half smothered under his shoulder. Dainia cackled, and Aurora held in her laugh as the raven shook, puffing up to twice his size as his feathers ruffled. She reached up and tentatively ran a hand down his neck, cooing at him. Boreas fitted her against his side with an arm around her shoulders, giving the bird who was purring happily an exasperated look before he turned his attention back to her.

"It is alright, you have done no harm. I do believe that Tristan, and consequently my own, next order of business will be to teach you what are in fact some of the things you should try not to catch hold of, or try to befriend in fearie. Apparently-"

He sent a mildly dark look at said prince who wheeled to a halt in front of him at the look, blinking owlishly.

"My _nephew_ has neglected a few such extremely important lessons. Such as how dangerous the crowns are to those not chosen kings."

Tristan's face fell, and he held up his hands.

"Uncle I did not think-"

Boreas learned forward, a slow methodical movement, and she heard his music roll off of him in a sudden burst, followed by the scent of autumn that surrounded him, and a thick wave of power that itched over her skin like liquid fire. His metallic eyes flickered with a bolt of light as he paused, inches from the prince's face, who had gone utterly still. His voice was low, a whip of command, biting off each syllable as his teeth clicked together with a precise movement.

" _No, you did not! And those are the kinds of mistakes that will cause the people you care for to die. This should have been one of the first things you warned your consort about when coming here, despite the fact that she does not have to worry about it at_ your fathers _Sithen. I know you are more than capable of thinking of such things, I suggest you be sure to do so in the future._ "

Tristan locked his jaw and dropped his eyes, nodding curtly at the admonishment from his uncle. Boreas straightened slowly, rolled his shoulders, and let out one long breath. With it went the terrible tension from moments before, and she could suddenly breathe again. Then he turned a far gentler eye to her, and halfway smiled.

"Now then, shall we retire to the silks room? Our morning repast is waiting for us."

 

Well the others had gotten over it fairly quickly, and despite her instantly going along with the way they had all turned around, cheered up and pretended the tension from moments before had not happened, she was personally still reeling. Because _damn_ , for one, the UnSeelie King was some serious kind of scary when he looked miffed about something, and she was willing to bet that had only been some mild anger. And for two, something she would never admit aloud, it had been pretty damned _hot_.

  
Holy Christ on a cracker she was weird. 

"So, would you like to open this discussion with any particular question Aurora?"

She jerked, nearly falling over since she'd propped her chin in her palm while she spaced out, flushing guiltily as she met Boreas's eyes. Well, they'd finished their meal, Dainia and Reindal, which she'd found out was the Raven's name, were off talking to each other in the far corner, and the guys had been chatting about inane things. Couldn't she space out a little?

Then she realized she'd been staring at the King while she'd been daydreaming. _Shit. Did he suspect_ -

"Something the matter?"

She narrowed her eyes at his low drawl, seeing his gaze had gone smug and was dancing with amusement, the corners of his lips twitching faintly as he propped his chin in his palm to lift an innocent eyebrow. _Oh he knew_.

Rogue.

"No, no, everything's fine. Uhm... just tell me about the crowns first I guess."

Boreas nodded, sharing a look with his nephew, and this air about him grew more serious as he drew in a deep breath.

"The Kings, and Queens, of Fearie are chosen by the ancient magics of this land. The crowns are the same as the relics of power we spoke a little of in relation to the staff's appearance. When their wielder is killed, the objects will wait for a time before they fade away. We do not understand entirely what happens to them, where they go, but they can reappear at any time. If they are needed, if they have someone worthy of wielding them. Many of our powerful relics faded hundred of years ago after one of our last great wars.... it was a sad time. Not only were there weapons, there were other things like clothing, jewelry, tools, items that we used.... A cauldron that was used to feed masses of our people..."

He trailed off, a stricken look in his eyes as he remembered something, and she reached out a hand towards him automatically, wanting to erase that look. He seemed briefly surprised, then gave her a wry, tired smile, before clasping her hand in both of his.

"We do not know what made them fade, perhaps they grew tired of the fighting or thought we were no longer worthy. Even some of our places of magic have faded now... but yes, on to your question specifically. The crowns are the same. Most of the time the crowns are passed down through bloodlines, and they are fine. It has happened in history that a king has stepped down, and before he placed the crown on his son or daughters head it disappeared. Another Sidhe would arrive wearing it within days to claim the throne, and despite the ire of the family, fearie had spoken. You cannot spite the will of fearie without... consequences. Once a king had not yet stepped down when the crown disappeared; he waited on the newest bearer to show, for weeks, but nothing happened. So long as the throne is occupied, even by an unworthy king, the crown will not manifest to another. That king finally stepped down, and within a day the newest high king was crowned."

She nodded, listening intently, eyes wide as he continued.

"The crown had been found a handful of times once the King stepped down, and it is a mere hunk of metal until the next king touches it. When active on a real kings head, it holds the power of fearie inside it, which is a wild, highly powerful thing. No mortal has ever held the crowns of fearie when filled with power, save two times. One was simply picking it up as you were, and the one who made the mistake of trying to steal one of them... neither survived the flood of magic."

She could tell, without another word, that she did not wish to know the circumstances of those particular deaths. A shiver slid down her spine, and he nodded slowly.

"Now you see our panic. If not the rightful wearer, the one will be attacked, mildly. If not released, the crown will..incinerate the offending Sidhe, or mortal."

Mental note, do not touch the damned crowns if possible. There were a few moments of silence, and Boreas cleared his throat, shaking off the obvious memories of the past.

"Well... what next? Ah... perhaps the dangers of some of our wilder creatures?"

She sent him a look, snorting at his pointed grin toward the Phoenix in the corner.

"I think running up on dangerous animals is kind of a moot point by now-"

"You think?!"

They all swung around as Tristan snickered and Stratos threw up his hands in exasperation after his scoffing statement. Boreas leaned back, looking interested, sending her a smirk.

"Oh this I must hear about."

She rolled her eyes and hid her face as Stratos began this extraordinarily detailed recount of her nearly touching that wild thunder horse, Silvestrum. When she peeked through her hands, Boreas was tilted forward, enraptured as he stared at Stratos's wild gestures about the encounter and how he'd nearly _DIED_. She snorted. 

"Oh you did not you big baby! He ran away when you came up!"

Boreas, Wraith, Sine, and Tristan all started laughing as Stratos gaped at her, stammering protests.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did _not_!!"

" _Did too_!!"

Stratos pushed to his feet, jabbing a finger at her over the table.

"How dare you doubt my sincerity! I am appalled madam!"

She leapt to her feet and slammed her hands on her hips, glaring right back as the others dissolved into further laughter.

"I doubt your story tellin because I was there you big wuss!"

Wraith and Sine both started in like little kids, chorusing 'Oooohhhhhs!' at him while Tristan and Boreas's heads snapped back and forth, watching in wide eyed speculation. Stratos reared back, clutching his chest as if wounded, and then pressed the back of his other hand to his forehead, lip trembling.

"I daresay you have wounded me madam!"

"Pfffft whatever!"

"Bah! Again you doubt the truth of my words?! You continue on with your incessant slander against my good character, and I shall be forced to take drastic measures to fix that attitude!"

Arms crossed, he glared at her, and again the guys chorused soft 'oohs'. All damned four of them this time. Eyes lighting up at the challenge she mimicked rolling up her sleeve and stomped around to stop in front of him, staring up at him almost nose to nose with a narrowed stare.

"And just _how_ do you think you'll accomplish that big boy?"

He sputtered, the perfect picture of righteously indignant fury.

"Why I-I will .... will... I will turn you over my knee!"

Her cheeks flushed bright red as she gasped, and just as he started to smirk, stormy eyes dancing with triumph, she leaned forward and poked a finger against the swell of his chest. 

"I'd like to see you try it!"

At her hiss, the others fell silent, all shifting to get a better view like kids on the glass of a candy store, and Stratos's jaw dropped. Then his lips curved up in a wicked grin that had her blood kicking up a notch, awareness dancing up her spine, and her adrenaline spiking at his murmur.

" _Watch._ "

" _SON OF A-_ "

She cut off with a squeal as he moved like a blur and her world upended. He caught her bent backwards over his arm, like he was dancing with her, smiling like a cat as her hair caught up and swept across the floor. She was suddenly upside down, facing the table of wide eyed men, and saw Tristan lean over without tearing his eyes away to mutter to Boreas.

"My gold is on -"

"Mine too."

Tristan glanced at Sine, and then at Boreas and Wraith who shared matching grins.

"We will take that bet I believe."

"Come on princess, just take it back and we can all sit down and-"

_Oh. No. It was **on** now_.

"Bite my shiny metal ass!"

She looked up as Stratos's jaw dropped, eyes rounding. "Wh-what?!"

It was her turn. She laughed and kicked out her foot, causing his knees to buckle. He barked a surprised sound and tried to catch her but she rolled, caught her palms on the ground and spun on one foot, watching with a grin as he just managed to catch himself. He fell back into a half crouch, arms out, and started to grin as his eyes glittered.

"Is it like that princess?"

"Its like that old man."

The men at the table roared with laughter, and then she was scrabbling as Stratos launched himself at her. That son of a bitch was still faster than her! He slammed into her and they went rolling, even though he practically curled himself around her to keep her from getting hurt. They flailed, swatted, kicked, tumbled, growled, cursed, and snarled for a good ten minutes, wrestling to pin the other one into giving up.

She finally, somehow though she figured it was pure luck, pounced on his back and twisted his arm, sitting across his hips. He flailed once, let out a puff of breath, tried wiggling out of it, then dropped his forehead on the floor with a grunt.

"Give up?"

He was actually starting to sweat a little, but so was she, out of breath and flushed but grinning at him triumphantly. 

"Fiiiiiiiiiiine!!!"

She leaned down, blinking innocently, moving to see his face.

"What? I didnt-"

"You WIN you cretin!"

She laughed as the others began snickering, jumping to her feet and smiling when he flopped over onto his back and rubbed at his shoulder, pouting up at her mutinously. She tsked at him but held out her hand, making his face relax as he rolled his eyes at her but took her hand, pulling himself up to his feet. He stalked over to the table and snatched up two drinks, coming back with a bright grin as he offered her one of them. She took it with a grateful smile, glad it was cold water and not more ambrosia. He reached out and clinked them together as Tristan and Sine both flipped a gold coin at a triumphant Boreas and Wraith.

"Alright, a toast, since my lady won. You got lucky, I will win next time."

She nodded, raising her glass with a laugh.

"You're on. Sorry for the old man crack, I was only joking."

He grinned widely at her as the others raised their glasses to get in on the toast, all smiling, and she threw back half her water in one gulp. She coughed, laughing as Stratos pounded her on the back with one big hand in mild concern, grinning as she stumbled and sputtered at him.

"St-stop! I'm f-fine you moose good grief! Just drank it too fast... m'good, geez.."

He chuckled and nodded, looking back and pointing at the others with a comment that instantly started a verbal war about who had bet on who.

She was laughing at them as Tristan played off the excuse that he'd had to bet on his captain of the guard, because he was the captain, and if he didn't believe he could defend him then he was in a bad way. Wraith made the comment that maybe she and Stratos should switch places, which brought them all to laughing as Stratos growled at him. Of course, it was all in play, she know damn well he'd let her win. In a real fight, he'd have torn her apart. But she knew that, and it had all been in fun. _Maybe-_

Her entire world warbled, pierced by the loud bellow that echoed off her mental walls as something passed into the perimeter around her. The glass fell from her nerveless fingers, hitting the floor with a resounding clang as she whirled toward the archway, instantly sprinting towards it as she recognized the voice, and barely flinching when a red and gold blur shot by her into the sky, flapping quickly, and starting to circle just above them as Dainia answered her mate's urgent cry for _them_.

/ _We are here Zaltheim! What has happened!?!_ /

The others were all speaking at once, wanting to know what was wrong, but she could feel the urgency, the near panic rolling off the Phoenix as he turned and beat his wings, diving towards them. Aurora stepped back from the edge and held out her hands as her stomach tightened, and her back straightened with cold dread.

Only a moment later Zaltheim appeared in the archway, swooping down and landing on her outstretched hands. His talons dug into her hands, sparks shedding from his beautiful feathers with the riot of emotions coming from him, and in her head beat his words, the memories of the things he'd seen, and her heart pounded hard against her ribs. Dainia's screech of surprise was nearly lost, even though she flew back to hover just beside them, poor Zaltheim drooping with the exertion he'd used to wing here as fast as possible, and Aurora whirled to see all the men on their feet, hands on the hilts of their weapons, faces surprised, waiting, and fearful. Tristan stood in front of them, swallowing hard as she turned and met his gaze.

"Tristan, your father's been hurt.."

He paled, those tri-colored sea blue eyes going wide and scared, and he turned. Stratos was catching his arm, pointing his other finger, and barking commands at Wraith and Sine.

"Sine, get to the stables, get our horses ready! Wraith, find Belle, tell her to get all of our things and make her way back when she is through, grab our necessary weapons, and meet us at the stables! Go!"

Both men dipped their head in military precision, all traces of the joking from moments before gone as they spun and sprinted out of the room in the barest blur of movement. Damn she'd barely seen them move!

Stratos turned back, took one look at the prince, and dropped his hand. Tristan straightened, turned halfway to hold one hand out to her, and looked at his Uncle.

Suddenly she could see, as she hurriedly walked over, catching his hand as Zaltheim walked up to settle on her forearm, that he was once again that High Prince.

"Uncle, I fear I must cut our visit short."

Boreas nodded, turning and waving out his hand in a gesture for them to walk. They moved hurriedly through the hallways, Aurora following quickly, one hand holding up her skirts as Dainia landed on her shoulder to keep up. The two phoenixes were talking as she halfway listened to them, and to the King and Prince.

"It is perfectly fine nephew, it is no trouble."

"Thank you uncle."

/ _Zaltheim what happened?_ /

/ _Poison. They do not know by what yet, but he is gravely ill._ /

Aurora sent him a wide eyed look, and he dipped his beak somberly.

When they reached the stables, Sine was just walking out with their horses in tow. The instantly happy vibes from Vorum and Torum dimmed as they caught wind of the mood from the group of them, and they shifted, suddenly restless. Tristan checked the saddle on Torum, as did she on Vorum while they all spoke, and Stratos helped the prince vault into his saddle. He walked over to help her, and she tucked her dress around her as she settled, crooning at Vorum and telling him softly what she could of what had happened. He pranced nervously, tossing his head and turning to eye her with surprise, just as Wraith bolted out of the castle and moved to take his horse.

"Bring my horse!"

They all whipped around in surprise as Boreas raised an imperious hand towards the stable boy after the barked order, who froze, staring at his king with wide eyes.

"M-my liege??"

She sent a glance at Tristan, who looked panicked.

"Uncle..!?"

Boreas turned, eyes cool, and she realized she could hear the music seething around him. He was furious.

"Yes nephew?"

"You.. why... what are you...?"

"A member of my family is hurt, and I wish to accompany you to see about them, and check on my sister as well."

Tristan sputtered off, looking to Stratos for help, who shook his head. Wraith spoke up, trying.

"We will send you word right back about his health my lord, as soon as we know anything, and I give you my word you will be kept in the loop-"

Boreas turned a cold eye to him, looking every inch the haughty king.

"I have no doubt that you would Wraith. But I would like to see my kin with my own eyes and offer my help."

Wraith swallowed and fell silent, shifting, sending Tristan an apologetic look. She was still confused. Why couldn't he come? Why didn't they want him to-

/ _I believe the Seelie court looks upon the king as an outsider, and despite his love for his sibling, they get into the biggest, most raucous fights every time they are near one another. Mayhap Tristan merely wants to buy time to... warn the court, and his mother, of the kings impending arrival...._ /

Aurora glanced down at Zaltheim, who shifted and cocked his head at her. It made sense. So she cleared her throat, urging Vorum forward to come even with Boreas, holding her hand out to him. He looked mildly surprised, reaching up to take her hand without asking why as she offered him a small smile.

"Boreas, you cannot go."

The others fell silent suddenly, wide eyed, surely thinking she had lost her mind and was far beyond pushing the limits of the kings friendship. She knew she wasn't though. He raised an imperious eyebrow, but he was waiting.

"Darlin, you can't just disappear. The stable boy here would be the only one that knew where the UnSeelie's king had gone, along with all of us. You're going to have to stay here and tell everyone what's happening. Your people will need to know everything is okay, to be reassured that their king is okay. After that, you could come, but you have a few things to do first. I promise, if anything changes, if the King worsens, or gods forbid, the queen falls ill, I will get word to you the fastest way possible.... okay?"

He stared at her a moment, indecision in his eyes, before he sighed out a breath and nodded slowly. 

"Yes.. you are right..."

The others relaxed, and she grinned mischievously at him, winking.

"Thank you. And that was very sweet of you to want to rush off that way, to be so concerned for them..."

He blinked and then flushed, dropping his gaze and pulling his hand back to huff a sheepish laugh.

"No no.. but ah... just please, be safe and keep me informed... oh! Here-"

He pulled open one side of his vest, reaching inside to pull something out of a little pocket. He held it up for her, and she took it gingerly, staring with open curiosity down at the little silver looking crystal, wrapped in gold and copper wires with intricate designs, and hanging from a thin black cord.

"Oh that's so pretty..."

She looked at him to see him flush with a bit of embarrassment, sending a glower at the others as they snickered, and then cut it off at his look. 

"It is my talisman, you may use it on any scrying mirror to call me. If i am near anything that may be used for any such purposes, I will answer."

"Oh, cool! Thank you Boreas. I will use it to keep you up to date."

He nodded and then moved away with a pat on Vorums neck, and she sent a smile at the others. Boreas reached out and touched Tristan's knee, catching his attention back from a quickly spoken word to Stratos. Tristan's hands were mottled white around the reigns, sitting perfectly still as he looked down at his uncle, but those eyes reflected the storm beneath the calm surface. 

"Be safe Tristan.. Ride with the wind."

Stratos, Wraith, and Sine moved around them in a pyramid formation, on both sides and behind, holding their horses steady with soft words. She glanced at both phoenixes who were still on her shoulders.

_/Are you coming?/_

_/Yes. I am./_

_/Will you fly or stay there?/_

_/I will stay here. Do not worry. Dainia-/_

_/I know mate. Daughter, I will fly to the dragons lair, to tell her what has happened. And lead little Mythrandiel back home as well./_

_/He's here?!/_

_/Just in the woods. I will catch up with you all at the castle./_

_/Thank you Dainia, please be careful. Tell Sareindiel that I will come visit her, I'm sorry-/_

_/I am certain she will understand. Worry not./_

She leaned over, rubbed her head against her mates, and with a soft sound she took off, flying in one low circle before she took off in the direction of the mountain, swooping down out of sight not too far away, presumably to collect the baby dragon. Aurora looked at Zaltheim, still trying to catch his breath, and picked him up gently, setting him down in her lap. He looked up at her curiously, settling his feathers with a quick shake.

"Don't wanna loose you, this might get trying."

"Aurora..."

She snapped her head up at the word, saw that Boreas had moved back, dipped his head at them, and Tristan was looking at her. She held up her reigns, letting Vorum move her even with Tristan.

"Watch out for my nephew, mortal."

She glanced at Boreas, halfway smiling, and nodded.

"I'll try."

He nodded back with a strained smile, but there was something darker than worry in his eyes, something she wanted to ask about, but they didn't have time. She'd ask later. She met Tristan's gaze again, and then he looked forward, snapped his reigns, and shouted a command. All five horses dug their hooves into the ground just as a mighty wind blew up from behind them, giving them an extra lift as they leapt forward. She glanced back to see Boreas watching after them as she caught the scent of autumn on that wind, and then looked forward again. They thundered down the dirt road, bending low over the horses necks as their hooves struck the ground with enough force to surely make the ground shake nearby. In her lap, Zaltheim pulled his wings in tight and buried his head under one of them, and she whispered a soft a reassurance to him, even as she quietly urged Vorum and Torum faster. She wouldn't let him fall.

The roads looked different, but she tried to keep an eye on where she was, where they were going; she wanted to know the way. She would need it later.

Wait, there was that fucking voice again!

This time it worried her. Why in the seven hells would she need to get back to the Unseelie court on her own?

Something touched the edge of her mind, whispering a soft, familiar tune, one that was wild, free, heart pounding and so very strong. The touch was tentative, curious, concerned. She looked up, expecting to see the dragon mother overhead.

/ _Sareindiel?_ /

But there was nothing, and the touch recoiled with shock. As it did she whipped her head around, looked into the woods, caught a flash of light off something moving along quickly, easily keeping pace with them. What could be that damned fast?!

Underneath her Vorum leapt, missing a step and bringing them down in a jarring step, causing her teeth to snap together, and from him she caught a sudden wave of fear. Why was he afraid -

/ _It is_ him./

She looked down, saw Zaltheim staring intently into the woods, and she followed his gaze. Her breath caught as a momentary break in the trees brought the animal into view. It was running, no, almost trotting, powerful muscles rippling under a satin coat, black as pitch, silver man flying.

/ _Silvestrum.._../

She whispered the name with awe, felt Vorum shudder underneath her, and saw the horse slowly turn its head. Its stormy grey eyes locked on hers, and that same touch returned, stronger, and she could feel it for sure this time; curiosity, concern. She took a chance, reaching back towards him lightly.

/ _It's okay. There is.. an emergency at the castle. Its why we're in a hurry._ / 

There was a moment, then something like understanding, and it just disappeared. It broke off and ran out into the forest, blinking out of her senses with a flash of silver.

/ _I believe... the wild thunder horse was concerned for your well being, daughter._ /

She blinked down in surprise at Zaltheim, who peered up at her, head cocked, intelligent icy blue eye focused in her.

/ _That's.. insane. And why do you and Dainia keep calling me daughter? I don't mind at all ...I'm just... curious.._ /

He twitched, looking down, and buried his head under his wing again. She stared at him in shock, and just when she thought that he wouldn't answer his voice came back, smaller, soft.

_/That is a complicated question, and even more so for the answer. Sareindiel will be much more.. it is her place to explain it to you, as she planned to do on your visit to her./_

_/Sareindiel??/_

What did the dragon have to do with it?

_/Yes. Now, we must hurry, the king is gravelly ill._ /

She whipped around to look at Tristan, who turned as if feeling her gaze. His pupils were nearly lost to the crackling blue of his gaze, and she could see the worry.

"We will help him Tristan.."

He nodded once, and she leaned down, clicked her reigns, and spoke to Vorum and Torum.

/ _Fly my friends, fly!_ /

Both horses ears twitched, and they leapt forward in sync, stretching out as they bolted forward. Tristan's lips actually twitched as he glanced at her a moment, and she sent him a small smile. They would help his father, she would find a way.

 

 

They passed not a soul on the road to the Seelie Sithen. 

She thought it strange, but then remembered how they'd mentioned all those groups of Sidhe from before had traveled to see them. Hadn't they gone through a few towns though? Maybe theyd taken a shortcut back...

They burst out if thicker foliage, then down a long path, obviously well taken care of and groomed, with flowers, vines, and twisting trees that framed the road. It was beautiful, and she realized that it looking pretty similar to the place near the pond where she arrived. 

"Tristan, is this the edge of the gardens?"

He nodded at her, looking well beyond relieved.

"Just past that bend we will be there."

She dipped her chin, looking back as they thundered around the bend he'd mentioned, and came up on a small courtyard, one she hadn't seen yet, but it looked only mildly different than the other few she'd seen at the Seelie courts. The glittering white marble was bright in the sunlight, looking completely peaceful, serene, hiding what was surely near chaos. Then a figure on the front steps stopped his frantic pacing, robes billowing as he whirled to see them, and slumped in relief. 

"Iridius..."

She whispered it, wondering if it was a bad sign, or a good one. The horses reared, skidding to sudden halts at the bottom of the steps with protesting neighs of sound, hooves slashing through the air before they landed. The men were all vaulting off, hitting the ground moving, but she was waiting, cooing at him to calm him as Iridius, Tristan, Sine, and Stratos were all talking. Vorum calmed suddenly, sides heaving, and she looked down to see Wraith had grabbed the reigns, and was holding the horse steady, speaking to him. After just a moment, he moved around and reached up for her, easy, smiling, and she huffed a laugh as he caught her waist, lifting her to set her on the ground. She mumbled a thank you, cradling Zaltheim in one arm as she turned. Tristan was nodding to Iridius's fast speech, listening intently, but flicked his eyes at her for the barest second and back, then held out his hand. She hurried over and caught his hand, letting him pull her against his side, wrapping her hand in the fabric of his shirt in the back. Zaltheim was listening, content to sit in the crook of her arm and follow along. 

"Come, you may see him, your mother is waiting as well."

Tristan nodded, and they walked quickly down the corridors, following the fluttering robes of the head scholar as he paced through the hallways on the way to what she assumed were the royal quarters.

"He's been poisoned."

She whipped her head up to see Tristan, watched his jaw flex, and saw the the shock on the faces of the guards.

"You mean.."

"Yes. I do not know how, but a poison this severe would not be something that he could easily just stumble across. It is possible but highly unlikely."

She looked back forward toward Iridius, and was very, very concerned.

 

 

After Tristan's tearful, hugging, suffocating greeting from his mother, she'd pulled him to his father's bedside, surrounded by her and Iridius, and she'd told him everything they knew. Which certainly wasn't much. Of course, Aurora was being pulled along by Tristan, because his death grip on her hand had not lessened in any way. Now she simply stood behind him, cheek laid against his shoulder, and placed her free hand on the hip nearest Iridius, offering what little support she could as she listened.

"H-he just... he had been fine! No complaints of anything at all Tristan! And then he started seeming tired yesterday morning... acting just a little oddly.. and .. and we were.. in the dining chambers just down the hallway, the two of us, having a nice repast... when he simply fell dead away!"

Tristan squeezed his mothers hand reassuringly, looking down at his father. There had been two healers working on him when they'd arrived, but they had left not too long after. Even Iridius had nearly worn himself ragged trying to heal the king, so the few other healers were taking small shifts. Nothing was making much of a difference. Iridius picked up the story as Morrigan began to cry again, turning her face into Tristan's shoulder.

"I was in fact deep into my research when it happened. It was a little while before one of the others found me, and by then the lower healers were working on him, moving him in here for comfort... I have requested that the other room be left completely alone, with two guards posted at the door. Perhaps we could start there and find some clue. His crown lies there where it fell, because none of us can touch it, of course..."

Iridius's eyes slit sideways to look pointedly at Tristan, and the prince dipped his chin in a barely perceptible nod. He looked over, and without a word, Stratos clicked his heels together and bowed, then whirled and left the room. Going to investigate and ask questions she supposed. 

Aurora leaned around Tristan a little, blinking wide, somber eyes at the king. Poor thing..

He looked so different. He was pale, covered in sweat, teeth chattering, dark circles under his eyes, and he was twitching, moving, fighting in bad dreams as his eyes rolled restless behind his lids. His music, which had been a bright, sunny burst of rhythm that had been strong, happy, boisterous, and powerful, was lulled, softer, weak, and sounded .... wrong.

"Nevertheless, our healers, and I, seem to be making no progress. It is like.. our magic is being repelled."

His tone was strained, sad, and she perked up, glancing around once.

"Have you tried simple physical remedies for poison?"

Three pairs of wide eyes turned to her, questioing, and she swallowed, fidgeted.

"What was that flower?"

"U-uhm.. well.."

/ _Tell them child. Do not be afraid._ /

She cleared her throat and glanced down once at Zaltheim, before taking a deep breath.

"When the magic didnt work, what did you do? Have you done anything else?"

Iridius hesitated, then shook his head. She stared at him stonily for a moment, then reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Godsdamnit Iridius. Did they search him for any kind of wounds?"

"But my lady he was not attacked, he-"

"He was with me and I certainly did not attack my husband!"

Tristan was looking at her as if wanting to shake her and warn her to shut the hell up, but she shook her head and nudged Tristan and Iridius aside so she could step forward.

"S'not what I said. Poison has to enter the system somehow. If there is no wound, then it was topical, or ingested. If there is a wound, it could be given by a weapon, an animal... you see what I mean? This will narrow down the cause and what kind, and must all be treated differently."

"Oh.. I understand you now my lady..."

"But flower.. if the magic will not help, then how do you expect to treat him?"

She glanced over her shoulder, saw him and Iridius looking hopeful, and Morrigan staring at her with sharp, diamond like eyes. She could understand though, this was her mate, her husband, if some random ass whelp had come up when gravely injured to pretend to know how to fix it when her trusted, highly intelligent, friends and allies had nothing, who the hell was Aurora to take over? 

But this, she could do.

"You treat him like I would were I back home. Maybe if he works the poison out he will be more susceptible to the magic."

The two shared a look, and she moved closer, feeling the heat coming off of the King without even touching him as she bumped the bedside, pulling her hand back and staring in shock. She turned to Tristan.

"Is he always this hot? Is this regular for him?"

Morrigan answered, although she seemed hesitant to. 

"No, he is normally about the same warmth of skin as Tristan, or Iridius."

She turned back, and sighed. That's what she'd been afraid of. She closed her eyes, held one hand out over the King, several inches high, and listened to his music.

She moved her hand slowly up, trying to find where the discordant note was coming from, starting at his feet. When she found it, she froze, snapping open her eyes, and looking down. She didn't see anything. What the hell? She knew she could hear it there! She moved closer, reached out tentatively, very carefully brushing through his hair. She was nearly-

"What do you think you are doing touching my mate?!"

She jerked and whirled at the Queen's irate screech, freezing as Tristan rounded on his mother whose gaze was snapping fire, and barked at her, fists clenched.

" _MOTHER hold your tongue!_ "

They both turned to him, stunned, and she gaped.

"Allow her to see if she may help!"

He lowered his voice, gentled it, and rolled his shoulders as he turned back to Aurora.

"Please, continue flower. Although I do not know what you are doing."

She spun on her heel to do so, lowering her voice, halfway paying attention as Zaltheim shimmied around until he could climb up her arm and settle on her shoulder. Watching. With both hands free, she continued.

"Looking for the wound.. entry mark, slice, something.. I can hear it right here... some...where..."

"Hear it?!"

She hummed at Iridius, lightly moving through the King's thick red and gold hair. "Yes. Its.. wrong. Like a.. I dunno, an out of tune note on a piano. Kind of subtle... but not.... I dunno... ah ha!...... oh dear."

She moved her hands, felt Zaltheim's surprise as he looked, and Tristan put a hand on her hip to lean over and see for himself. As she got his hair parted, she found what she'd been searching for; a mostly straight slice, about an inch long, and relatively deep. It looked like it had been sawed at almost, by something small, irritated, and itched at. The gash was black, seeping something dark green, red, puffy, swollen, had a few centimetre long trails of the same color out from it in the veins. Blood poisoning.

"By the gods.."

"Tristan this is bad..."

He leaned back, and as she straightened, turned to him, he was even more pale. Morrigan looked thunderstruck, and Iridius was shocked. Then Tristan took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and stared at her with hard, determined eyes.

"Tell us everything you need to help my father and you will receive it."

Morrigan looked as if she would protest, but Tristan raised one imperious hand, and continued to stare at her. Aurora shifted, feeling torn. She wanted to help, she knew how, she'd been taught this kind of thing, but the queen was obviously not in favor of it.

"I... Tristan perhaps I'm not the best fitted for-"

He reached forward, took her hands in his, and leaned down, making her stare at him wide eyed while he stopped with his forehead pressed against hers. When those gorgeous tri-colored eyes opened, she felt like she was drowning in the ocean, but it was glittering with unshed tears. His voice barely whispered, nearly didn't reach her, even this close, but she heard it, and the desperation, the plea.

"Please try to save my father Aurora.."

"....Alright Tristan."

No more hesitation, she couldn't stand that look in his eyes. He leaned back, looking relieved, and she tilted her head to see Zaltheim.

_/I'm going to need your help with this./_

_/Anything at all I can do daughter./_

 

 

That had to have been one of the most frustrating explanations of her entire life. Mainly because she was trying to tell Iridius what she needed to help the king, and nothing in this world world was the same as it was in hers. Zaltheim was _a complete godsend_ because she'd been able to let him see her memories of the different plants, and he could tell her, at least to a point, whether something like that existed here. He'd also been able to give her the words and names she needed to explain pure alcohol to clean the wound with, which was of course different here, but to his understanding he said it was the same. They had even brought Marcellus to her so that she could explain the kinds of 'cloths' she needed, which she kept muttering repeatedly about it being gauze not clothing, but the tailor had outdone himself. He'd weaved it up in no time and brought it back to her while she was still waiting on the other ingredients.

Today, she noted that Marcellus had changed his look again. But as the flamboyant tailor stopped in front of her, she also thought he seemed.... oddly somber. At least for him.

With his arms full of the linen wraps, gauze pads, towels and cloths, he lifted his shoulders in a question, gesturing towards them for her to see if it had been what she wanted. His hair, while still the light blond it had been before, had silvery highlights instead of the firey red, his clothes were a dark grey tunic, edged in intricately sewed designs of purple and blue around the hems, and most of his jewelry was gone. His nose was smaller, not as pointed as before, which confirmed her thinking it had been glamour, and the glittering makeup reminiscent of fire he'd had around his eyes was gone as well, replaced by painted on designs that matched those of his tunic in the same color. All of it brought his tricolored eyes into focus, which she'd thought were pretty when she'd seen them the first time, the same grey wintery sky, a soft lavender in the middle, and the pale babys blue.

"Ah... yes Marcellus wow, you did amazing as usual, this is exactly what I needed."

He blinked at her, momentarily taken aback in surprise she thought.

"Perfect my lady! I am so very glad! Will this be enough?"

She gestured, and he carefully set the armload down on the nearest table while she thought.

"I'm not sure really.. would you mind if I just told you if I got low, and you could make some more then?"

He nodded, looking pleased, and she wondered if she had misjudged the odd little man in their first meeting.

"Marcellus..."

"Yes?"

She hesitated then sent a quick questioning thought toward Zaltheim, who was perched over the king's head on the bed, hidden from view from all the people coming and going by the draped silks around the canopy.

"I may go through those quicker than I thought.. could you stay, maybe in that side of the room, for a little bit, just in case?"

He nodded, and moved to turn, but she stopped him with a light hand.

"May I ask, why you seem so... different today, than before?"

He hesitated, seemed to ponder what to say, or how much to say, then shrugged.

"I have found that it is much less work to simply be myself, instead of pretending to be more like the things that I find so interesting and amazing, and that it feels... much better. That is, if you inquire about my attire, as for my normally marvelous attitude, I am simply worried for our King."

He glanced toward the bed, at the so still form of said Sidhe, and sighed.

"I understand that Marcellus.. and I wanted to tell you, thank you for the beautiful clothes you made me."

He whipped his gaze back to her in surprise, and she wondered why.

"I mean it, especially that dress with the dragon scales, its beautiful."

He started to grin, and she could see the spark of him there in his eyes, in the excitement he suddenly held for speaking about what was surely his passion.

"You are most welcome my lady! I worked quite diligently on that one in particular... but it was much fun. I am working on another one now.. but.. ah."

He seemed to wilt, and she huffed a short laugh, smiling as he grinned sheepishly.

"But what?"

"I wish to make one for you that is much like the beautiful Phoenix, as you noticed I have quite the love for them, but all I have to go on are paintings, drawings, things that do not do them justice. I have seen one in my life, and it struck me with such awe... well, I simply am combining fire with the way the feathers seem to be, but I am so very frustrqted with it... because I know it is not quite right, the true beauty will not come out, I fear I have no muse!"

He flung up his hands, looking so dejected, that she laughed at him, glad he was acting more like himself, even if it was to be so piteous. Then she glanced toward the bed, stopped, thought very hard about it.

"Marcellus can you keep a secret?"

She squeaked as he was suddenly inches from her, eyes huge and intent in his face, hands clasped together as he gave a short gasp for air and shimmied from head to toe. Holy shit!

"I absolutely adoooooooooore secrets my lady! I assure you that I will not repeat it to another soul!"

She halfway grinned, shaking her head as she pushed him back a little with a finger against his forehead. Then she asked Zaltheim, with a quick explanation and somewhat of a warning about the man's eccentricities, if he would like to come out and meet the tailor and model for him. She had figured out that while they were careful creatures, the phoenixes were also very proud ones as well. At his instant answer she held up her arm, elbow even with her shoulder, so that he could land.

A quick sound of his wings brought the tailors head whipping up, and then his jaw dropping, eyes going as big around as saucers as Zaltheim swooped out from the bed, spreading his beautiful wings wide as he landed. She wanted to laugh, knowing he'd done it purposely, head high and regal as he perched lightly on her forearm and gazed at the Sidhe with intelligent icy blue eyes. Marcellus looked as if he would faint.

"This is my friend, Zaltheim. I believe, if you would like to speak to him and see him, that so long as you stay right in here with him, that he wouldn't mind showing off a bit for you."

Marcellus couldn't form very many words as he nodded frantically, whirling as he looked for the bag he carried. Apparently it had his sketching book and pencils in it, and as he snatched it up he turned and made a sweeping bow, staring in awe at Zaltheim, who preened.

"P-Please, if you would come over here near the couches, perhaps on the table there, I would be honoured to try to draw you."

She huffed a laugh as Zaltheim took off, circling once in the high ceilinged room, showing off again, and headed towards the table. Marcellus gave a girly squeal of pure delight and raced over to the living room type setup in on side of the giant chambers.

"That was very nice of you my lady."

She turned at Wraith's voice, flushing at his wide smile and shooing at him.

"Shush no it wasnt. I'm sure Zaltheim was getting bored and I can't stand someone being all mopey, two bi- ah, .... never mind, it worked right? So anyway did you get everything?"

He nodded, gesturing to the box in his arms, and she had him set it near the table with the gauze, plopping down into the chair to peer inside and pull out the items with a smile. He'd been sent after the items she would need, like bowls, mortar and pestle, a good knife and chopping block, etcetera. 

"If you say so my lady, and I believe I have everything on the list."

"Thank you Wraith."

"Of course."

As she checked over the things and spread them around, she mentally prepared herself for what she was go into have to do. This was going to suck, like really bad. And they were probably going to think she was killing him... damn! She got up with another grateful smile at Wraith to check on the King again, mind wandering over everything she needed still.

Sine should be back soon with the herbs he'd been sent to the garden keeper to help round up. Stratos should be back with the pure alcohol soon, knowing him he was arguing with the kitchen staff about what he needed. Iridius had gone to get the other thing she'd requested, that she sincerely hoped she wouldn't need, but had asked for just in case. The little lines going out from the King's wound had grown slightly in the short time they'd been here, and it worried her to no end. She'd gotten cloth bags secured with ties at the top full of ice to place on the Kings forehead, under his arms, and despite the queen's huff, below his stomach near his...well. She couldn't help that the places to put ice to bring down a high damned fever were so odd, she just knew what to do damnit. And it was working, soon she would take off some of the ice, and she was constantly blotting the sweat off his face and neck with a cool rag. His fever was lowering some. Unfortunately, it hadn't broke. It wouldn't until she could extract some of the poison, but despite them having a wound, they still didn't know what did it. All she could say was that the wound carried a faint scent, and a definite wrong tune. One that set her teeth on edge, but fortunately was very low, like echoes left over from whatever had done this.

"Mother!!"

She froze for a heartbeat, then shook her head, opting to do the same thing she'd been doing, which was changing out the cool rag and wiping the sweat from the King's brow before replacing the ice. Wasn't much else she could do, but she could pretend to be ignoring Tristan's heated conversation with his mother in the corner, the way Wraith was, who was watching her intently. She knew he'd heard Tristan's frustrated hiss too though, because he'd went tense beside her.

"What?! He _always_ knows and I am going to see him!!"

"And just how am I supposed to explain your absence from fathers side?! Just so you can go to that old-"

"Watch your tongue! He has helped us more than you can imagine!"

She heard Tristan scoff, knew he was staring with that mutinous set to his jaw.

"I think you mistake much of it for help, or anything useful at all."

His mother snarled, her voice like a whip.

"I do not care what your opinion of him is! You are not the king yet, and cannot order me around. I am going for advice, for something useful, and you can continue with your newfound faith in that human with her strange 'medicine' instead of magic!"

The queens heels clicked away in a furious tempo, and she could hear Tristan's teeth grinding from here. She dropped the rag back into the bowl of icy water and lifted her head to see him, wiping her hands off to dry on the small towel slung over her shoulder. Tristan was furious, eyes closed as he took several long slow breaths, and the sound of his music was a dull roar beneath her ears. She decided discretion was the better part of valor, and that if he wanted to tell her, he would.

So she walked over, gently laying her hands on his arms as she stopped in front of him. He jerked in surprise, electric eyes flashing, nearly throwing sparks until he focused on her, then they gentled somewhat as he sighed.

"Its okay Tristan, I'm sure she'll come back soon. I can understand that she doesn't like what I'm doing, its completely crazy to the lot of you anyway... I don't blame her. I'm sure she's just worried."

Tristan shook his head, scoffing as he brought his hands down on her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. She let him, because he obviously needed it, patting his back consolingly while he laid his cheek on her head and murmured a soft reply.

"No, she is being foolish. She should not go see him, especially now, for this... he is... well.."

"Finally got this gods forsaken 'alcohol' you wanted!"

They both jerked, blinking wide eyes at Stratos as he appeared in the doorway just ahead of Sine, holding up four long necked huge bottles of clear liquid. He beamed at them and Tristan halfway grinned at him, moving to help as Stratos complained about having to explain what he'd needed to the kitchen maids, and arguing about it forever. Of course. Sine's job had apparently went much easier, and he had a box in his arm with several bowls of fresh picked herbs layered.

All the while, she was thinking, confused. He seemed like he'd been aimed to tell her, or that she did, or he thought she did, know the guy the queen was going to see. But it was in secret, obviously, and Tristan didn't like it at all.

Just what the hell was going on?

She didn't have time to worry about it right now, she sent a quick thought to Zaltheim that the herbs were back, asking him to come help her, and took her seat at the table. He perched on her shoulder and the others took up posts around the room, save Tristan, who hovered nearby watching her as she began the process of making a poultice as fast as she could. 

Shit was going to get real interesting real quick.

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

She turned her back, continuing in her making of the medicines while they worked after directing the guys on what she needed them to do.

  
Which was something she was not doing if she could help it.

She'd made them take the responsibility of stripping the King of his sweat drenched clothing and sponging him down, making sure, just in case, that he had no other wounds, and carefully changing the bedding. Then, of course, covering his modesty with a sheet. She did _not_ , repeat, DID NOT WANT, to see the King nude. As soon as they were done, despite the halfhearted grumbling because they didn't understand her 'modesty', which thank you very much she did and she figured the queen would, she checked him again. His temperature seemed to have dropped several degrees already. Thank the gods! That thick ass robe had been making it worse like she feared.

Well, she couldn't wait any longer for Iridius, she had plenty to do before she could use what he had been sent for anyway. She needed to hurry, because the King's music was softer than before, and although it wasn't steadily fading, it was scaring her. The quick explanation of why she needed Tristan to take a blade to his fathers head and shave an inch around the wound had boggled all of them. But he'd looked at her a moment, sighed, then turned to do as she asked. One thing she couldn't do was shave with a damn blade, much less anyone else. He was through quickly enough, stepping back, waiting as she looked and nodded.

"Perfect, thank you. Okay. I'm going to get started.... since you've got the whole... water control thing, I need you to catch this as it leaves the wound and direct it to this basin in the floor here, so it doesn't pour all over the bed..."

"....okay. I can do that."

"Good. Wraith, you watched me mix this up, and you know what I called all of it, so can you come over here so that you can hand me things as I need them?"

"Of course."

"Stratos, I need you for two jobs. You and Sine need to stand near so that if he wakes up or starts moving you can hold him down. Okay?"

"Sure."

"Yeah, what is the other thing?"

".... this is going to sound strange, but I need you to be able to call some lightening for me, so I can copy the music, in a split second if I tell you too, no questions. Can you do that?"

They all stared at her with wide, unsure eyes as she swallowed, looked down at the too pale king.

"I know, okay? It sounds weird but if I need it... it'll be an emergency thing. Can you..?"

He met her gaze for a few seconds, but finally nodded as he walked around to stand across the bed from her.

"I will."

Her relieved smile sparked a small lopsided one from him, and she turned to Tristan, gave him a nod, and then went to work on the King's wound. The first little bit did nothing, just washed out, but she gave it a moment as all the blood and such on top washed away, watching as Tristan's magic caught it and guided it to the basin, before she applied more. This time it hit the actual wound and dribbled inside, and she knew it worked. Aurii tensed, and Sine grabbed his ankles just in case. She quickly poured a little more, hand pressing his shoulder down to try to keep him still, and nearly jumped a foot in the air as the wound _hissed_ and let out a plume of black smoke.

"Holy... shit."

The others stared in shock, but she tightened her hold on the bottle and continued pouring, wincing at the amount of black that came out, looking like ink. Ugh! It took her that bottle and nearly another whole one before it ran clear with just blood, and Aurii relaxed again, although his face was tight with pain she was sure. She pressed the wound gently, looking for any oddities, any pockets left of the poison, and froze when she felt something. 

"Shit.... shit, no really?! Mother fuu- argh. Wraith, the pinscher things."

He sat them in her hand, looking worried, and she glanced up at Stratos and Sine.

"Hold him, there's something in there. This is going to fucking suck."

They shared a look but nodded at her, getting a good hold, and she took a deep breath before moving the metal instrument into the gash. Aurii tensed again, sucking in a quick breath, face twisting up, but his muscles locked, keeping him still while she tried to get to it. What was it?! She was doing this blind, having to move carefully toward the spot she'd felt it, the part hard enough to be a bone lodged inside-

**_CLANG_**!

She froze, staring incredulously down at Aurii's head. That had been something metal hitting her pinchers. Did that mean he'd been attacked and no one had known? She glanced up at Tristan, who was staring at her in shock, but then she squared her shoulders and refocused on the task at hand. She gripped the edge, and started carefully pulling, wiggling it to loosen it, blinking to refocus as more blood poured past her fingertips. Dark red blood lit with gold sparkles, like gold dust. Wow. She hoped that was normal.

Minutes pulsed by as she had to pause, douse the wound again, and again, to keep being able to see. The tenuous grip on the thing was almost fighting her. Finally she caught the edge of it, silvery and black, perhaps the size of a pencil, half an inch long, and curved to a wicked point. What the hell. As it came up, almost out, the king wheezed in a breath and started fighting. She gasped, losing her hold, hurrying to catch his head and shoulder as the guys clamped down on him. Tristan leaned against her side and caught the arm she was leaned over so that he didn't swing up at her, and she hurriedly moved to extricate the damned thorn before she lost it. Why the hell hadn't he fought until now?! 

She caught it and dropped it, fought against the king who was going half wild trying to lift the three sidhe men and buck them off. Finally she had it nearly out, dropped the pinchers, splayed one hand across his head, and grabbed it with her nails, yanking it out. The king let out a bellow of sound as his back arched up, and then he collapsed as if the strings were cut, breath coming in barely there pants. She was bouncing the thing back and for between her hands until she could drop it into the tray by her things, staring wide eyed at it because the damned thing had been burning her. It looked like a metal thorn, and the low pitched, screeching like music that came from it screamed **_WRONGWRONGWRONG_** in her head.

"My god what is that??"

Seeing the king was calm again they crowded her to see, and each of them shook their heads.

"I do not know."

"It looks like a thorn...."

"But it is metal..."

"I can hear it, its been spelled or something."

"What?!?!"

She turned around to Tristan, lips thinned as she nodded.

"Can you smell it? Its like poison, and some kind of magic. I mean, maybe the magic is left over from whoever created it? Or whoever touched it last? I don't know.. but it's not the kings music. This is... really terrible. It hurts to hear it. None of you touch it, I don't want to have to do this crap twice okay?"

She halfway grinned at them, getting a few small smiles back, and she bumped her head against Tristan's side from where she sat, looking up at him. He sighed and put a hand on her head, nodding, and she moved to wash the blood from her hands in the basin with the alcohol. Just as quickly as she was done she directed the others back to their positions, and doused the wound several more times. Even as she watched the blood run clean, much to her horror, the lines had grown out even farther. Damnit she was going to need-

"I am here! Forgive me it was hard to find... them."

Iridius wheeled to a stop with a black bowl in his arms, blinking at them wonderingly. She sighed in relief and motioned at him wildly.

"Hurry hurry! Bring them here please! I do need them unfortunately.... ugh."

He quickly came to her as Tristan moved, and opened the lid to show a squirming, slick mass of pale yellow leeches. She shuddered. Damnit. But she took a breath while the others watched in horrified wonder, and plucked two of them out. They all gave varying cries of disgust as she crooned to the little things to calm them, then set them on the wound on the kings head.

They latched on happily, and she turned to Tristan. 

"I'm sorry, I know, but its literally the fastest way to pull out the poison. If it gets to his heart- _ohmyfuck_."

She whirled at a tiny squelching noise to see one of the leeches drawing its tail up and turning purple, then it let go, falling to the bed. It gave a final twitch, then stilled. Iridius went white, and she grabbed another one to replace it, lips thinning.

"I was afraid of that..."

It took several, and she meant several, of the things, each staying a little longer than the last, before the lines were no longer visible. Just faint bruises where they had been, and she hoped to hell they'd gotten it all. She started stitching up the gash after flushing it again, then flushed it once more before drying it and applying the salve she'd made. She laid down some gauze, wound the linen wrap around his head to hold it, and sat back with a weary sigh. He had more color, his breathing was better, and his temperature was lower. Son of a bitch she'd been worried. But at least there was no more of that horrible music -

She bolted upright as the screeching music pulsed behind her, turning to look wide eyed at the thorn.

"Guy, its doing something, what-"

Aurii wheezed and she turned back, saw his chest stutter.

" _No! No no no_!"

She shot forward as he wheezed again, breathier this time, then it all came out in a long shuddering breath, and he went still.

She touched his neck, shaking her head, frantic as she tapped his cheeks and bent down to hear his heart.

She couldn't even hear his music.

"No damnit! No fucking way!"

"My lady.... you tried..."

She turned at Sine's words, saw the utterly stricken look on Tristan's face, felt her heart sink. _No, he'd trusted her, he'd trusted her,_ **HE'D TRUSTED HER!!!**

She clambered on top of the King and straddled his waist, putting her fists over his heart, and with a quick breath she punched down. The guys yelped in surprise, but she kept on, having to use her entire body weight to even attempt CPR on the fucking overly strong Sidhe, panic clutching her as the color in his face began to fade a little. But she heard the barest echo of his music every time.

" _Come ON YOU STUBBORN OLD GOAT!_ "

She held her palms up, looked at Stratos who looked thunderstruck, and barked at him.

"Stratos! Lightening!"

He jerked, blinking in momentary confusion before he suddenly brought up his hands and called a small bolt into existence in the palm of his hand. That was all she needed. She rubbed her palms together, said a prayer to the gods as she called the lightening between her hands, and slapped them down against the King's chest. His body bowed up, fell back with a thud, and she gave it a few beats, waiting. Then she shook her head and did it once more while the others shouted at her in shocked confusion. This time when his body fell back it brought with it a long note of music, and she dropped the lightening from one hand, leaning down to press her ear to his chest. It beat underneath her cheek, and his music warbled up, faint at first but gaining slowly in strength. She sat straight up, pointed at the thorn, and set what was left of the magic on it. As it collided it popped and hissed, rattling in the tray as it erupted with sparks and fire, burning it to ashes.

The sudden silence in the room was deafening, and Tristan walked up slowly, eyes wide as he looked down to see his fathers chest rising and falling steadily. Those sea blue eyes filled with tears as he looked at her.

"You did it.... you saved him..."

" **WHAT BY THE GODS DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!** "

They all turned at the furious screech from the doorway, Aurora blinking in sudden panic as the Queen started toward her, hands up with a snarl contorting her beautiful face. She started to scrabble down but Tristan reached out, caught her hips, and swung her up, setting her on the ground behind him. Then he turned back to his mother with a matching snarl.

"She was _SAVING MY FATHER WHILE YOU WERE OUT_!"

The queen wobbled to a stop, her eyes going back to her mate, the bandages, all the instruments strewn about, and stared at the smoking remains of the thorn on the tray.

" _He STOPPED BREATHING! HE WAS GONE! AND SHE BROUGHT HIM BACK, **SHE SAVED HIM**!_ "

The queen went pale, jaw gaping as she stammered weakly.

"I... I... I.... he... My Aurii... is he...."  
Suddenly Tristan's shoulders dropped, and he moved forward, catching his mother and pulling her into a hug as she hiccupped a broken noise. Aurora looked down, feeling intrusive, and turned around to begin cleaning everything up. Stratos and Wraith moved to help her, and Iridius directed Sine to take the dead leeches and incinerate them in the hottest fire he could find, in a well ventilated area. Iridius took Stratos's place after that, to let him help with the burning, and keeping the smoke away from anyway else. Iridius feared it would be harmful.

"I want you to look in the room where the King finally fell, and see if you can find any thread of music, any hint of what that thorn came from...and if there are more."

She hesitated, looked down, and Iridius waved a hand. 

"I will instruct the maids on what to do, to leave this here for you. Correct?"

"Yeah, I'll have to change the bandage, especially if he relapses or starts bleeding again... someone needs to be with him all the time."

"I will have my healers change out shifts, perhaps their magic will work some now, with the poison removed."

"Okay... I hope so."

"Flower.."

She turned, saw that Tristan looked tired, exasperated, but he sent her a grateful smile.

"I can not thank you enough.. but we will talk later. The people are gathered, and they need me to tell them what is going on..."

"Well of course Tristan go ahead..."

"Iridius, if you will come with me?"

"Of course, allow me to stop and speak to my healers along the way."

"Naturally. Wraith, please stay with her, and.. will you do as Iridius asked now?"

She nodded, rubbing the back of her neck, surprised as he moved forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. Her face flushed as she tentatively returned the hug, and he put his mouth next to her ear, murmuring something softly before he pulled away with a serious look in those tricolored eyes.

"Watch yourself..."

He turned, and Morrigan moved forward, taking her emptied seat by the kings side and picking up his hand, twining hers around it. They all left quietly, with a few soft murmurs of parting from all of them. 

Wraith guided her two doors down, waved off the guards waiting at the door, and led her inside. They were halfway through the room when she saw the table low to the ground with the piled cushions around it, like at the UnSeelie court, but not as grandly colored or decorated. She followed him as he spoke, telling her that they had been eating together when it had happened, just as she noticed the half eaten food on the plates, the drinks turned over, and the sparkling gold crown laying feet away, turned up on its side. She looked at it curiously, wondering. Had he been wearing a crown before? Bah, maybe he just wore it in he wanted too, of course, like Boreas did. As Wraith lead her closer, something shivered over her skin, making her want to stop as her stomach tightened with worry. But Wraith walked on, oblivious, and she moved forward, reaching out to grab at him.

"Wraith, wait, somethings-"

She wheezed in a breath, stumbling, feet faltering as she started to fall. Inside her head was a screaming cacophony, like a thousand bees swarming, broken records jumping, strings sawing in harsh, discordant notes that clawed at the inside of her skull and made it feel like it was bleeding. Wraith whirled as she hit her knees, gasping for air past the pain as she held her head, curling over her knees into a little ball as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. _Oh GOD IT **HURT**_ -

"Aurora! Speak to me what is happening!? Tell me what to do to help!"

_Help!_ She slit open her eyes, looked up, at the source of the ungodly horrible sound, and slammed shut the door on the music in her head. It all was blocked out, but she heaved in a breath and slumped against Wraith, shaking as he caught her, still talking, trying to figure out what had happened.

"Wr-Wraith I'm okay.. I'm okay now. It was the music, god it was awful."

"The music? What music?"

"Here... just help me up and... yeah."

He stood, keeping a hand on her, keeping her steady until she nodded, and he carefully stepped back.

"Its... that. The same music was coming from that."

He turned in shock, staring where she pointed, looking back with wide eyes as he moved toward it, several feet away.

"How could it be-"

"Stop! Don't touch it! I'm telling you its the crown! Some things wrong with it, that's where the poison came from, and we're going to have to destroy it!"

" **HOW DARE YOU?!** "

She and Wraith spun at the furious screech, and Aurora threw up her hands. Why did this woman have the most perfect timing in the damned world?! Everydamntime something came out of her mouth she came in to the wrong context and-

" **YOU WILL NOT SLANDER MY MATE'S NAME, I WILL KILL YOU!!** "

" _WOAH WHAT?! HOLD THE FUCK OOOON-_ "

Then Aurora was backpedaling, wide eyed as the Queen produced a long, golden sword from the depths of her skirt, the metal ringing clearly as it came free of the scabbard, and charged at her. _WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE SUPPOSED TO DO SHE COULDN'T FIGHT TRISTAN'S MOM FOR FUCKS SAKE-_

She threw up her hands at the last second, hoping Iridius could reattach her arms if they were in big enough pieces when this was through. A sickening thud caught her attention, and she pried open her eyes at an affronted gasp, one of her own coming out in shock at the sight before her. 

Wraith had materialized in front of her, and the Queen's sword had been halted in its downward strike by him, arms crossed in front of him at the wrist, curled forward to catch the shorter blow. The queens arms were shaking as she pressed, until the light in her eyes flickered out and she focused on him. Then she jerked back with a bone grating sound, face thunderous as the two guards came in from outside, followed by Tristan, Stratos, Sine, and Iridius, who all stood gaping in obvious confusion. The queen whirled in a full righteous fury, pointing the sword at her son, then at Wraith as she gestured.

" **I WILL HAVE THEM BOTH BEHEADED FOR TREASON AGAINST THE CROWN! HOW DARE THEY-** "

Aurora's eyes caught the tremble of his back, then the splattering of black blood that hit the ground, and dripped from the queen's blade onto the floor.

"Wraith..."

Despite his protesting hiss she bolted around in front of him, completely ignoring the Queen's screaming tirade, to grab at his arms.

"Oh wraith.. oh honey..."

His face was blank, stoic, perfectly composed, like he had been when she first met him. She tugged down his arms, gasping as she saw. The bitch had laid his forearms open to the bone, and blood was pouring down both arms, soaking his tunic.

"Iridius! Iridius come help Wraith!"

He tried to shush her, but they couldn't hear her over the Queen's yelling. Fury brought her spine snapping straight, and she stomped forward, grabbing the blade from the Queen's unsuspecting fingers and jerking it away. Morrigan whirled with a gasp, looking outraged, opening her mouth, but Aurora flung the blade down behind her, stepping right up into her face before the clatter had faded.

" _NO YOU LISTEN TO ME YOU POMPOUS BITCH!_ You've tried to attack me several times in the past few hours _WHILE I WAS TRYING TO SAVE YOUR HUSBANDS LIFE I MIGHT ADD, AND NOW_ you come at me with a blade, and hurt my goddamned friend?! _NO HOW DARE YOU!!!! YOU SHOULD ACT_ like the queen of the _SIDHE NOT A CHILD!!_ **NOW. BACK. OFF!!!** "

The queen gaped like a fish, and Stratos had clamped a hand over his mouth, she was sure to hide the laughter. She lowered her tone and looked at the scholar, speaking softer.

"Iridius, will you please see about Wraith?"

He slid a look over to Tristan, who gave a curt nod, and she started over to him, head high, passing Iridius on her way.

"Now, if you want to know what happened, I will tell you. She came in as I got the words out of my mouth that we had to destroy that damned crown right there because that it where the thorn came from, the music was so loud at first that I hit my knees. Its terrible. I couldn't hear it until I got close, but its definitely that. She came in just as I said that and flipped her fucking shit. I don't know WHY. Wraith stepped in front of ME because she was aiming for me with that oversized letter opener!"

Tristan was utterly still, staring down at her, his posture rigid, lips thin, and when he lifted his gaze to his mother, lightening flashed in the depths. He pointed at the other two guards, the two she didn't know, and hissed a single command.

"Get. Out."

They both scrambled to obey, and as soon as the door clanged shut, he spoke to his mother the way Boreas had to him before, with precise clicks of his teeth, fury set deep in his features.

"How dare you attack my consort, my second in command, my friends-"

"She claimed the crown was a fake-"

Tristan's roar had her flinching, and overhead thunder cracked and rolled across the sky.

" _IT IS A FAKE_! It is not even the first! It is one of many over the years that you and father have gotten from various places after paying them a sum to keep quiet about it! Everyone knows that it is not real, that the true crown faded from him decades ago!"

The Queen pulled herself to her full height, standing rigidly as she stared at her son in her own tizzy, but too stunned that he was yet again bowing back up at her to respond.

He walked forward, steps lethally graceful, power crackling from the ends of his hair as he stopped inches from his mother and stared down at her.

"One more time, mother. Once more. And I will tear this shamble of a rule down around your and fathers heads and rebuild it with the ashes. I suggest you work on your attitude between now and the time when father wakes, and the two of you have a long discussion about what has happened."

Personally, that quiet voice, vibrating with anger, was much more terrifying than the roar had been. The queen dropped her eyes and looked at the ground, shoulders slumping. Behind them Iridius turned, and Wraith's arms were completely better.

"Now. Where did you get that crown mother? Where did this one come from?"

The queen shook her head, reaching up to cover her face.

"I do not know... this time he had this one ordered, and I do not know where it came from. But surely it was one of our trusted metalworkers, I do not think one of them could be behind this..."

Tristan turned his back, walking back over to a wide eyed Aurora. Was she the only was reeling? The crown was a fake? Holy shit though-

"Then I suggest you come up with a list of them all any that have ever made it, and anything you think could be helpful. I and my trusted guards are taking over the investigation to find the one behind the assassination attempt on my fathers life...."

He put his hands on her shoulders, jerking her attention up to him as his voice softened, lowered.

"The one that would have succeeded had it not been for you, flower."

She gulped, and risked a glance at the queen.

Son of a bitch indeed.

 

 

Aurora sat beside Tristan with the others fanned out behind them, sitting or standing, in front of the big scrying mirror Tristan used. Of course, Chopper was sprawled across her lap in the loveseat, whining piteously because she'd left him. She just cooed at him and roughed his fur up on his head, only halfway succeeding in keeping some of the drooling brat's mess off her poor dress. She finally looked back up at the gilded mirror, which looked like an antique, dark intricate designs in the wood, with silver and blue accents all around.

She had thought it was just a mirror, but apparently it had some wards and spells laid on it, which kept it a safe, smaller channel for when he wanted to speak privately or quickly to someone. Hence the reason he kept it in his room, or so she thought anyway. She did watch how he stepped up to the mirror and called through it, how he used his magic and all of it.   
It was a useful trait, and she wanted to learn how to do it. 

The mirror gave off a soft hum after Tristan touched the surface, and sat back down. Only a moment later the frequency was joined with another, and suddenly they were syncing, holding one lone harmonic note for just a beat, before it faded off with the barest of echoes as the surface rippled. She watched, entranced, as it became as clear as day, and she could see Boreas. He was pacing back and forth, in the same pants but with a different top. It was a robe of sorts, decorated the same and just as black, the front open save for a few straps criss crossing over his torso, and it billowed out behind him with the rapid movements he made, hands behind him as he stared at the ground like it had personally offended him. 

Tristan hid a smile but she was grinning.

"Boreas you'll wear a groove in the floor doing that.."

He whirled, saw them, eyes flicking out behind them and back.

"He should be fine now Uncle. We have treated him, and he is sleeping peacefully."

Boreas slumped in relief, falling back into a plush chair with a breath of relief.

"Thank the gods... what happened exactly?"

Tristan shared a look with her, then squared his shoulders. At the motion Boreas sat up, eyes sharpening, and listened intently to the entire story. He glanced at her in surprise several times as Tristan spoke about her 'medicines', and how she'd saved the King. Then, even to her surprise, he told Boreas about the fight with the Queen as well. 

It was quite the conversation. And despite her constant yawns, she'd really been trying to pay attention and help Tristan explain. He sent her an amused look, leaning back and picking up his arm, tilting his head in a gesture. She sighed, grumbled halfheartedly under her breath, but her eyes were too heavy as she slid a little closer and leaned against his side, head falling to rest on his shoulder. 

He'd had a bad day, she couldn't fault him for needing some comfort. She could indulge him a little.

She must have muttered it to him because he chuckled, turning back to continue speaking to Boreas, who watched with a lopsided smile. He was really warm, she thought, snugging up just a bit closer to his side, eyes closed as her mind drifted. It felt so odd, was he putting her to sleep again? She just sighed, pressing her nose against his collar, breathing in that scent of the sea that clung to him, and quit worrying as the dark full of whispers reached out, pulling her under with soft yet demanding hands.

 

 

 

Aurora opened her eyes slowly, feeling like she'd pressed sand into them as she blinked, reaching up to rub them in an effort to clear her vision. Everything was fuzzy, her hearing coming back in waves with the beat of her pulse, strange sounds making her move around and try to sit up.

"T-Tristan....?"

Finally what had been three or four blurry shapes coalesced into one, sharpening as her ears began working right again. It was like she'd been turning the glass on a kaleidoscope, trying to focus on the image. She was on the ground; cold, damp, dark earth, sparkling with bits of minerals. Which meant deep underground. What? Had she lost her mind? 

There was the steady drip of water, the soft patter of very tiny feet on the earth, and the leathery shuffle of wings mixed with a high pitched chirping. Looking up, she was staring at the rounded rock walls of a tunnel, stalagmites here and there near dark puddles of water. Small pools of flickering light danced ten feet or so apart, leaving near pitch black between each one, but as she looked both ways, it seemed to go on forever.

"What the fuck..."

Her whisper was swallowed up by the darkness, making her shiver as she put her back to the wall, hands scraping the rough rock as she slowly pushed to her feet. She took a moment to stare down both directions, hesitating since she didn't know what the hell to do. How had she even gotten here? She looked down, found she was still in the same dress, with the random splatters of blood and water here and there from working on the king's wound, the bits of dirt at the bottom from the insane ride back to the Sithen, and it still looked fine. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep next to Tristan, and-

"The whispers..."

Her eyes went wide, and she realized she'd heard them, several times. Each time she hadn't known what to do, they had come up, mixed in with the music, and shown her the way. It had helped her with Stratos and Wraith, and as she thought about it, longer than that, although she hadn't always picked it out from the music to begin with. It strangely didn't scare her though, and it felt... familiar as they surrounded her again. She'd heard hem though, right before she fell asleep. 

A flash caught her attention, and she jerked to see, eyes wide as someone came into view, striding down the hallway with harsh, angry steps, feet kicking at the puddles of water, appearing in each triangle of light and disappearing again in between. She held her breath, unsure of what the hell was going on, but she cracked open the awareness she had, listening cautiously. 

No, she didn't know him.

His music was.... _distorted_.

She pressed back against the wall on instinct, feet sliding to move her farther between the pools of light until she couldn't see her own hand. He wasn't close yet, but she watched him, waiting, one hand reaching down to her thigh, slumping slightly in relief that her blade was still strapped there. Thank the gods.

At the thought the whispers invaded her senses again, but they were soft, cautious almost. How the fuck she could pick out meanings behind them she didn't know, because she had yet to translate it into any real words, at least in a language she could speak, but she did understand vaguely. So far, listening to the instinctive responses had saved her ass repeatedly so far, and she was listening to them now.

Of course, she and these whispers were having a talk later if they were behind this dropping her into some random ass underground villains lair in the middle of bumfucked egypt with some random stranger who looked beyond pissed. Yeah thanks for that.

Then the guy was two lights away, still storming down the tunnel, and she could see him better in the brief flashes. Well, sort of anyway. He had a full cape on, the cowl pulled up, hiding most of his face as it billowed out behind him. All she could see were full lips curled in a furious sneer as he muttered and snarled to himself, and pale moonlight skin. Which didn't help a fucking thing. He wore full black, even though he looked like a pirate villain from an old movie; with a v-necked peasant shirt with ruffles around the collar and sleeves where they ended at his elbows, tucked into black, albeit slightly shimmery, skintight pants, and laced up thigh high black leather boots. That was clichéd as hell, but she figured she could pull off some shit like that if _she_ looked like that too.

She swore she heard an exasperated noise from the whispers, and rolled her eyes, responding in her own head if they could hear or not.

/ _Bite me villains are always hot._ /

Then the guy entered the light nearest her, still walking, and the sound and presence of the whispers fell away as if they'd never been. Her eyes widened, and she tried to track him walking right by her by sound, hoping he didn't fucking see her, or smell her or hear her. 

He was cursing about some damn blasted female being a haughty, overbearing-

**_SHIT_** -

He froze in the next circle of light, cloak floating down to settle around broad shoulders, hiding the muscled frame she'd noticed moments before. With the sound of crunching stone he spun on one heel, feet sliding apart, hands coming up, knocking back the cowl around his head with the movement. She was frozen, staring wide eyed, breath caught in her throat, heart hammering against her ribs. 

Goddess help her she'd just thought it was a stranger.

She slumped in relief, wilting where she stood, thankful the wall held her up. Yes, same strong jawline, upturned nose, high cheekbones, the full lips; the damned face of a fallen angel. 

He straightened somewhat, eyes searching the darkness, wary, on edge, defensive with his hands up. His hair slid forward,and he reached up to flick it back, but not before she caught herself, refusing to go forward. She'd just nearly bolted toward him, to her friend, to safety, but....

She listened, and his music was just wrong. It wasn't the violins, the soft sawing of strings in the air, the distant peals of drums, the wistful notes of flutes. As he continued to search the darkness, she realized it was mimicking Boreas's music, but it was like a scratched record, making it distorted. There was no scent of cool spiced air, a hint of it only, but it was like both were cover ups for something else. 

And as she stared, the face was just a little off. The lips more full, nose thinner, and his eyes were ..... different colors. She stared in surprise, realizing then that they were gold, black, and red, still glinting with the metallic sheen like Boreas's, but not right. As he turned his head to look the other way she could seen a slight sheen of color to his hair, like red. That wasn't right either, the UnSeelie king's hair was black as night, sometimes with a blue hue to it, but this was such a dark red it was almost black, but not quite.

It was all close, but not quite..

The man cocked his head, then heaved a sigh and continued on with a shake of his head. His steps were easier now, but still purposeful, and he quickly drew away from her. She stared after him in stunned confusion, still trying to figure out where she was and who the HELL could pass for a near carbon copy of -

Wait. Did boreas have a brother somewhere?

The whispers came flooding back, making her jump, and this time they were pulling her forward. She scoffed, shaking her head wildly. Were they insane?! She was NOT following Boreas's freaking TWIN, which she'd had no clue existed before, down an under ground fucking tunnel to god knows what creepy dungeon! The whispers pushed at her, urging her to follow him, and her foot twitched as she watched the mans retreating back.

Should she? After all, surely she was here for a reason, maybe he knew. Maybe he could help. She liked Boreas, he was cool so..

Finally she huffed and started after him, walking close to the wall despite herself. She wasn't running to catch up, and she didn't want to scare him. Surely he would get wherever he was going, or they would find the exit and she could find her way back. 

Yeah.

So on light feet she followed. Damn the whispers, but they came too.

 

 

Finally, some sort of end. They hadn't walked long, but it felt like longer, and her eyes protested the much brighter room that the tunnel opened into. He walked out and into it with a sigh, and she stopped well back, still in the dark at the whispers' murmur of caution. 

Yeah, thanks for that now.

But as she watched, it was like the guy was home, yet she knew they were still underground. There were no windows or archways, everything was illuminated by bright little were lights, like the little spells around the Sithens where the light of day didn't reach well enough behind doors. 

He moved through the room, which she could only say was fit for royalty, whipping off his cape with a flourish and throwing it over a couch. He disappeared into one of the other many hallways off this main room, and moments later she could hear the running water of a shower. 

_She was NOT spying on the poor guy in his shower!_

She was very staunch about this to the whispers, which seemed to pull her forward, and she tentatively eased into the light of the room.

It was all the same white marble of the Seelie Sithen, decorated in old tapestries, hanging silks and a hundred things.

Bookshelves lined much of the space, filled with large heavy tomes, overflowing with scrolls, tables ladened with herbs, more scrolls and books, glasses, ingredients; it looked much like Iridius's solar room. There were other tables, several of those big cushions, a couple couches and such. In one hallway she saw a forge and many tools, in another a kitchen, another a bedroom, and she stopped at a bookcase, looking up at it towering over her, ignoring the other halls, especially the one the guy had walked into.

Grief she was such a nerd. She just wanted to pull them all down and look at them. So she touched one, pulling it down, fingers smoothing over the hand bound front and inscribed golden letters. It was beautiful, fading from dark red, to bright orange, then gold. It was like it had been painted with real flames, dancing and shimmering across the cover. She traced the edges of a flame, awestruck.

Then the whispers fell silent, and she felt a tick starting under her eye. What the hell was-

"Ahhh... I thought I felt the presence of another in my hall."

She didn't scream, or jump, or anything; she was quite proud of herself. She turned slowly, not allowing her nerves to get to her. Just because someone seemed like a stupid movie villain didn't mean they were one. Besides, he was probably Boreas's brother, and she wouldn't be mean to him on principle.

Instead, she smiled, warm and a little nervous truthfully, felt her cheeks flushing as she focused on him.

Damnit. He was definitely that rogues brother.

Shoulder leaned against the doorway of the hall he'd disappeared into, he was watching her with curious, but open, even friendly eyes, a bit of a smirk on his lips. Those metallic eyes were terribly unfair, so strangely alluring she realized, much like some of the other Sidhe had been to her. Of course, it didn't help that he had come back out with his hair in damp tendrils around him, red tinted but nearly black like she'd thought, shirtless, in the same black pants and boots she thought. Arm's crossed, hip cocked, and ankles hooked together insolently, he was obviously waiting for something. Oh, right.

The polite, _who's this bitch in my living room_?

"I...I uhm... yeah, sorry I'm... kind of... l-lost..and I ... d-didn't want to uhm.. intrude on... your s-shower..."

Why couldn't she stop staring at him? His lips curved up as he straightened, eyes smug and confident, and he held his arms open, palms up as he started to walk over. Walk was such a pathetic word for it though. 

He sauntered, hips rolling, lithe as a great predator stalking toward her, and she couldn't force herself to move.

"Intrude...? Never..."

He grew closer, stopping just in front of her, tilting his head slightly, eyes dancing as he looked down at her. Her heart was pounding, mouth dry, and suddenly she could hear him, smell him. Had it just been some echo earlier, some trick of her own mind when she thought he'd been Boreas? This was entirely different, it was lower, darker, with several guitars, the steady beat of a drum, and distantly made her think of something from the queen of the damned. The smell around him was crisp, hot, with hints of wood smoke, the scent of heat; fire. 

He couldn't be Boreas. Up close she could see he had a few beauty marks, a crescent shaped scar through one arched eyebrow, and his teeth were sharper, with genuine fangs as he bared them in a full blown smile that made her stomach drop into the floor. Not with fear.

"I... I... I didn't mean..to just.. uhm... to j-just walk into... your house but... I uh,.. am lost... and..."

He glanced down, tilting his head forward, an oddly boyishly thing to do as his hair slid over his shoulder with the movement. 

"Aaaand... you need a little help out of the dark, do you?"

She licked her lips, nodding, and his eyes lifted, hooded as he watched the motion, then met her gaze. He started to moved closer, bringing up his hands, and she stumbled backward with a squeak, back hitting the shelf and stopping her. He continued forward, dropping his hands on the shelf on either side of her head, leaning forward as his eyes slid over her. His voice lowered an octave, became a rough rumble in his chest, and she was having a hard time breathing.

"I suppose it was too much to ask.. thinking that..."

She gulped, felt her throat click, and his eyes, heated but amused, met hers.

"Th-thinking what??"

He leaned forward another inch or so, inhaling on a long breath, eyes fluttering closed.

"That someone had come to simply visit the big bad wolf..."

She blinked in confusion as he sighed, pushing back and away from her, and she sucked in a grateful breath of air. No. No she wasn't feeling bad for some underground, villain looking, strange twin she'd never hard of because of something he'd muttered while he pinned her against a fucking bookshelf!!!!

She nearly stomped her foot and snarled at herself.

_She was not!!!_

He turned, face in profile, tilted back just so, and it hit her that it was a mannerism she'd seen Boreas adopt a time or two as he swept up his cloak.

"Come, I will show you the way out."

He draped it over his shoulders, striding over to the lip of the tunnel they had come through, and she shook herself, hurrying after him. As they continued she skipped a few steps to catch up with him, looking up to see his face was blank, mostly obscured in shadow, but almost all of the emotions from earlier were gone. His eyes flicked down to her, and she straightened like a whip, arms clutching the book to her chest, staring forward. They continued another moment, and her eyes snuck back over towards him, making her turn her head to see, and he finally looked at her again, arching a brow in silent question. She flushed and swallowed, looking away again, but forced herself to speak.

"Wh-who are you? You look like... the UnSeelie king..."

She waited, listened to their steps for a few minutes, and sighed. Of course he wouldn't answer her-

"Aedh."

She swung back to look at him, beaming a bright smile at him.

"I'm Aurora. Nic t'meet 'chou!"

He turned his head to really look at her, seeming surprised, although she didn't know why, before he dipped his head and looked back forward. But some of his posture relaxed again.

"If you think so, I will not argue with you."

Huh. Well then.

"So... do you live back there?"

".....yes."

"............... all alone in the dark?"

"It is not dark there."

She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering if he was teasing, huffing a sigh.

"Right... so... why do you live under ground then?"

Silence.

"Because I do not belong in the courts."

She turned to look at him, and once again wanted to smack her head into the wall repeatedly. DO NOT FEEL BAD FOR THE WEIRD BOREAS TWIN THAT LIVES UNDER GROUND.

"....why not?"

"Many reasons."

Ookaaaay, translation: none if your business. Got it.

"Do you... like visitors?"

"...... I do not get many of them."

"But do you _liiiiike_ getting visitors?"

He glanced sideways at her, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Sometimes."

More silence.

"Do you ever come out?"

"Not often."

"Why not?"

"I do not belong there."

Asshole Seelie being condescending assholes to everyone-

"I don't see why not."

"....... you do not well know the Seelie then."

"Hmm... only some. But I like those. The others... meh. I've got into a fight with one... stabbed one..."

She flushed as he glanced at her askance for a moment, then chuckled deep in his chest. She beamed happily at him, and he shook his head with a soft murmur.

  
"You are such a young one. Here, go now, before you are missed."

She stopped as he did, blinking owlishly, and stared in surprise as he reached out to lay a palm against the stone end of the tunnel. It rumbled, and slid open to reveal an ivy covered cave entrance, somewhere in the forest.

"Wooooooooow...... so cool! Secret passageway!"

She stepped out into moonlight, turning back as he didn't follow.

"Hey aren't you-"

"I cannot go further. You should walk straight through the woods towards the moon, and you will find the path. The left will take you to the UnSeelie Sithen, the right to the Seelie Sithen. Be safe young Aurora."

"M'not that young! But hey wait- will I ... see you again?"

He hesitated, paused, and sighed.

"More than likely not."

"But - but don't you miss the sun? Seeing other people?!"

This time, his eyes were a little sad, and she thought of the fire she sensed from him, living underground, banked and stifled.

"It does not matter. Go now, and.... keep the book, to remember you ever met me."

His lips lifted at the corners, and she glanced down in surprise at the book, gasping.

"Oh no your - but - Aedh!"

She rushed forward but the rumbling of the door closed gave her pause, and it snapped shut, sealing with a hiss of air. It looked like a straight rock wall, and she glanced around at the clearing, trying to find some way to mark where she stood. It was beautiful, but not much different than the other parts of the woods. Then she turned and slumped against the wall. Where were her damned directional helpful stupid fucking whispers now? Why was she led here? What the ever loving fuck was going on?!  
She glanced down at the book, holding it tightly. No she wasn't crazy, at least, she wasn't imagining it. Finally she looked up, to find, lo and behold, the clouds obscured the moon. She huffed and stomped her foot, but then with a soft gust of air they moved, rolling out of the way to reveal a mostly full moon. The silvery light fell down around her, and the clearing she stood in started to glow. She gasped, scrambling back, looking in surprise as the knee high grass, or what she'd thought was grass, started to sparkle. Hundred of blooms erupted in soft light, and as they opened, they spread midnight blue petals littered with glowing, pure white spots. The middles of the damned flowers were giving off light, blooming under -

"Moon flowers.....!"

She bent down and touched a petal, scenting the air as it filled with the sweetest smell, a mixture like honeysuckles and bergamot, so unusual but so beautiful. She bit her lip, hesitated, and then opened her ears, listening to them. Oh they sounded like a thousand soft bells, ringing into the night with fearie music!

"Can I... take some of you home with me?"

Several of them near her chimed, leaning on thin stalks towards her, and she laughed, carefully plucking each of them near from the ground to get a little of the root clumps with them. When all thirteen of the ones that had answered her were in a carefully held bundle in her arms she rubbed her cheek against them, sniffing them again with an appreciative murmur. Then she started after the moon, walking carefully through the flowers that leaned slightly out of her way, and trotted off into the woods.

Her ADHD was in overdrive again. Oh well.

Not long after the clouds obscured the moon again and she faltered in the sudden dark, looking around hesitantly, jumping in surprise as the flowers in her arms brightened considerably, and she laughed. Now she had a lantern of her own!

"I freaking love you guys...."

They chimed happily again, and she took off again, stumbling onto the dirt path Aedh had mentioned. She wondered if she was halfway, thinking maybe so, and turned with a sigh toward the Seelie court.

"Tristan would flip his shit if I disappeared and reappeared at the UnSeelie court for no reason... oh well."

So she followed the dirt path back towards the Sithen, and wondered how she was going to explain why she was wandering the night. She didn't know herself, so this was going to be interesting.

 

 

The sun was already up, past the top of the Sithen when she rounded the bend, and she realized she'd either been ghosted out of the sithen really late, or been walking longer than she though. Nah it hadn't been that long surely. But she bet it was breakfast time and that they'd already noticed her absence. She paused, looked around, and sighed again with a shake of her head. There was no way she could sneak back in now.

She walked right in through the front archway, once again glancing down and lamenting that her beautiful flowers had closed as the sun rose, and simply looked like dark blue bulbs now. Ah well - 

She froze at a familiar deep bark that hesitated, then began going wild, followed by the scrabble of nails and thundering footsteps. She whirled to look back down the hallway she'd just entered, and saw Chopper round the next one, sighting her instantly, and barreling down the hallway like a mad thing, leash flailing behind him. Two familiar figures skidded around the corner after him, looking pale, panicked, and almost running after the dog. As he grew near she stepped fully around the corner, narrowing her gaze when he didn't slow, and barked back at him before he could gather himself and leap on her.

" _NO SIR! You SIT!!_ "

He scrambled, ass hitting the marble as he pawed to stop himself, skidding to a halt inches away. She blew out a relieved breath, shifting to crouch down and carefully set the book and flowers down to pat him in the head while he thumped his tail against the ground steadily, tongue lolling. She stood as the others caught up, out of breath and wild eyed.

"Guys wha-"

"Aurora!"

"My lady!"

"Thank the gods!"

Wraith, and Stratos surrounded her, both picking her up in crushing hugs at the same time, talking ninety miles a minute, and started dragging her off.

"We must take you to the prince-"

"He is worried sick-"

"Where have you been?!"

"Stop stop stop! My stuff!"

They dropped her in surprise and she scrambled back, picking up the book and flowers to clutch them to her chest. They both looked at her oddly, and she flushed.

"Okay now let's go."

 

 

"My lord..."

They pushed open the doors to the room next to the King's bedroom, and she instantly felt guilty. Tristan's hair was in a messy half braid, loosened from worriedly pushing his hands through it like he was currently doing, pacing back and forth with quick strides. As they walked in he whirled, eyes wide and panicked, with faint circles under them. She set her things down on the table next to the door, moving toward him in concern.

"Tristan I'm sorry I -"

"Finally back from wandering the forest hmm?"

Tristan went ramrod straight, face tightening, and Aurora froze mid step, turning to look at the biting voice from the corner.

Morrigan stood there, eyebrows arched haughtily, face cold.

"I suppose you think it is okay to sneak out in the middle of the night to meet someone, to worry my son to exhaustion? To come trotting back in here as if a simple apology will suffice?!"

Her jaw dropped, and she snapped it shut, looking back at him to see he'd dropped his eyes to the floor, hands in fists at his sides.

"I didn't sneak out! Tristan I..."

She couldn't talk about the whispers here, he knew about them, but she couldn't talk about them in front of the queen, he'd told her not to. He'd told her not to talk about most of her powers. The queen's laugh was acidic and sharp.

"Of course. It is always something, is it not?"

Behind her she felt Wraith and Stratos both bristle, but she glanced back at them with the slightest shake of her head. The queen strolled over, reaching out to trail her fingers through a strand of her hair. Aurora snapped her head back, glaring, lip curling, and Morrigan laughed a little, moving over to lay a consoling hand on her sons shoulder. 

"You see..? She is fine, just out and about. Let us get back to our planning of the festival now..."

He swallowed, frame strung taut and shuddering, and she stared at him incredulously, voice soft.

"Tristan..."

He shook his head and turned away. She watched him smooth his hands over his hair, down to tug his shirt back into place, and rebuild that icy exterior that belonged to the High Prince of the Seelie.

"No, we will speak of it later. I have to... deal with the problems of my kingdom right now, I must be my father until he awakens."

The queen smiled at him, happy, and Aurora felt something smoldering up her spine. Alright, she could do this too. She looked down, took a deep breath, and slipped into the familiar role like an old blanket.

Taking hold of the edges of her skirt she lifted it out, knees bending in a graceful curtsy, lowering her head.

"Of course my lord, forgive me. Shall I check on your father before I return to our rooms to prepare for my lessons with Iridius?"

Foot steps padded over in front of her, and at a soft murmur she raised up, eyes cool, hands clasping in front of her as she looked up at him. His sea blue eyes were worried, but relieved, returning to that mirror like surface that so matched that of a calm pool as she watched. Behind her, the utterly stunned silence made her want to laugh.

"Yes, that would be best. If you need anything for him, send word to me and I will have it brought to you."

She lowered her head again in a nod, turning away, freezing when his hand reached out to settle on her shoulder. She tilted her head, looking down but waiting, heart starting to pound as he leaned toward her. His lips brushed her cheek, hand tightening on her shoulder for the barest moment. Then he was straightening, turning to the Queen, his voice turning flat again.

"And do not be too long. Iridius will be waiting, and I will meet you in the solar rooms at lunch."

"Of course my lord."

They walked out, closed the door behind them, and turned towards the Kings rooms. 

"What-"

"Wraith."

Stratos's soft voice was like a whip, cutting off his second in commands' question before it could form. She knew he would bristle, but he fell silent, and she sent a glance back at them. Wraith dropped his head, was staring at the floor with a tic in his jaw, but as Stratos's stormy eyes met hers, he dipped his head once.

Good. She'd thought he would understand.

 

 

She cleaned Aurii's wound again, glad it looked better, reapplied medicine and changed the bandages, giving a few soft instructions to the healer there. At least the quiet Sidhe told her that their magic was working now to a degree, which did in fact relieve her.

The men followed her back to the rooms, waiting as she disappeared into hers. She took her books and flowers from Wraith, patting the still pissed off looking Sidhe on the arm before she went. Poor thing.

She found a nice bowl decorating one of the tables in her room, filled it with a little water, and carefully settled the flowers inside. 

"I'll get you replanted properly in a little bit babies, Iridius will know how to best do so.."

She thought she heard a soft hum from them in response, but when nothing else happened she smiled and patted them before turning. She discarded her dress on the bathroom counter before stepping into the shower, hoping maybe that Belle could mend it later, or Marcellus. 

When out she stared into her closet, debating a few moments, before reaching her hand to slide it through. She paused here and there, but kept shaking her head, moving on. Then she hummed, tugged out the simple cotton and pulled it on, shimmying into it easily. It faded from deep, dark sapphire blue at the hem, all the way up until it reached the lighter shade at her shoulders, trimmed in silver. 

Tristan's colors; nearly the exact shades of his eyes.

She stopped to once again pick up the mystery book she'd gotten, and looked at the moonflowers once more, contemplating.

"Would one of you mind... being a gift? For my friend Iridius? He has the solar room, with all this open space, lots of other plants, like he's trying to collect them all... I've never seen one of you there."

It took just a second, and one of them rustled, gave a very soft chime, and she picked it up gently, smiling.

"Thank you."

She padded back into the main room on bare feet, offering a small smile as Stratos and Wraith turned from their quiet, heated conversation to look at her. Wraith looked apologetic, but before he could open his mouth she shook her head.

"Its alright Wraith, no need to say anything. Now, are both of you really going to follow me to listen to my lessons? I'm bringing Chopper too... Do you not think Tristan may ....need you there Stratos?"

At the mention of his name Chopper perked up and came over, leaning heavily against her side, huffing happily as she dropped a hand to pet him while she listened. Stratos thought a moment, looking contemplatively at Wraith, then sighed.

"He did not order me to stay with you specifically... so yes I will return, once we get you to Iridius and settled in safely."

She nodded, clicking her tongue at Chopper as they moved to open the door for her. She fell into step between them, moving down the hallway, and finally Stratos looked down at her again.

"What is with the book, my lady?"  
She glanced down at it, halfway frowning. Had the whispers sent her there for the book or to meet Aedh? She didn't know, it could just be a side thing, completely unintentional. But she'd also been clutching it tightly to her chest the entire time she'd had it, afraid to lose it. 

"I'm not sure yet, I haven't even opened it. I figured I could once I sat down with Iridius. I suppose it came with me from my... travels, this morning."

His eyebrows rose, looking once at it curiously, then he shrugged.

"As you say my lady."

"By the way guys... where has Zaltheim and Dainia gotten to?"

"Ah, she arrived late last night, and the two of them retired to the 'nest' of sorts that Iridius made for them in his solar. I believe they could still be there."

"Oh good! Thank you."

 

 

 

"My lady! You are well!"

She looked up at the voice as she stepped inside the solar, beaming a bright smile at Iridius as he moved over towards them. Behind him the two phoenixes rustled their feathers and made their own soft greetings to her, which she instantly returned.

"Yes Iridius of course. I would explain but... I think I should wait. Tristan should be coming for lunch, and since its... an odd story, I'd rather tell it once if possible."

She looked up as he stopped in front of her, blinking in curiosity, then sent a glance at Wraith and Stratos. Stratos inclined his head as he settled a hand on her shoulder.

"I will leave you with them my lady, to go see if the prince has need of me."

Instantly Iridius's face slid back into that thing she was starting to think of as a survival instinct around here, something she was calling a 'court mask'. 

"Thank you Stratos."

He halfway bowed, spinning on one heel, and briskly walked out of the room. Wraith followed suit by moving over to stand but the doors, almost at attention but sightly relaxed. Iridius's gaze returned to her, and all she could do was look back at him in silence. Finally he nodded.

"Come then, come. We shall ... work on your magic some. What is this you have brought with you?"

She smiled at him as he guided her over to the table where the phoenixes still perched, taking one of the chairs with a murmur of thanks and setting the book down carefully. She extended the dark green bulb out to him, which he plucked from her hand curiously.

"I brought this one for you. It wanted to come. I have twelve others in my room in water. I thought you could tell me how best to plant them to keep them healthy. Back home we called them moon flowers, but here... I've never heard you speak of them so I don't know what you call them. They bloom under the light of the moon, have beautiful dark blue petals, with white inside, and glow! They helped me home, actually. And they sound so beautiful Iridius! Even now they answer when I speak to them but its soft...er.... Iridius?"

He was staring at the bulb in shock, eyes wide and awed, lifting a finger to trace one dark petal carefully.

"Flores Nocte..."

She frowned, thinking, and then blinked.

"Night flowers? Oh. Okay. I think I have heard you say that before. Are they rare?"

He plopped down into the seat, still staring at the quiet bud.

"Very much so. To think they allowed you to take some of them... you are very lucky. They can be quite dangerous."

She blinked at him in shock. "What? How?"

He stood, hurrying over to another table, banging around, pulling out a small intricately designed pot, and digging under the table until he tugged out a bag of what looked like dirt. After a couple minutes he returned, the flower delicately patted down, roots buried in the soil, and sat the pot before her on the table. Both phoenixes were watching with great interest, and he gestured as he sat.

"You said they respond to you, yes?"

"Well yeah but-"

"Please, ask if this is acceptable."

"Do they not respond to everyone?"

He looked at her a moment and she sighed, turning to the flower hesitantly, knowing his answer for any redundant question she asked. Ask questions she knew the answers to, she must not. Yes master Yoda.

"Okay, well, is this good to you?"

She thought she heard something rustle, then it shifted slightly, the base burrowing a little deeper, roots spreading out under the soil. After just a second it gave a happy chime, and Iridius's jaw dropped.

"By the gods... amazing."

She huffed a laugh, already used to the way the scholar geeked out a little. He pulled up a notebook and began scribbling things down on a blank page, muttering softly, looking back up several times as he began to sketch the flower. She propped her chin in her hand, turning to see the birds, smiling in welcome at Dainia.

"I'm glad you made it back safely. Was the trip alright?"

/ _Oh yes daughter, no mishaps. Zaltheim told me of your amazing display and saving the Kings life._ /

Aurora flushed, turning her eyes to Zaltheim as he cocked his head, looking at her book, and stepped down from the perch.

"I don't know about all that, but I'm glad it worked. How did Sareindiel take the news?"

They were both watching the male Phoenix as he clicked over the table top near her, stopping to look closely at the book she'd brought.

/ _She understood, as I knew she would. She simply said for you to come as soon as you could find the time to visit her.... Zaltheim was it it you are doing?_ /

She cocked her head in question, watching as he leaned down and peered intently at the book, reaching out one black talon to step up on it. He shook all over, settling his feathers, leaning down close as if sniffing the book's cover. He suddenly gave a loud screech, wings snapping out wide in surprise, stumbling back, whipping around to look at her. His beak clicked as he spoke to her in a flurry, over his mate who had moved over instantly to see what his problem was.

/ ** _WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?!_** / 

Wraith materialized behind her, and Iridius moved over, looking at the book and then the Phoenix in confusion, as was she as she stammered.

"I-I-I got it t-this morning! From ... from my new friend??"

Dainia let out a horrified sound as well, moving over and copying her mate, turning wide icy blue eyes to her.

"What is wrong with them Aurora?"

"I. .. I don't know yet, something about my book-"

/ _But WHERE daughter? No, from who??!_ /

"I ... I don't know if I should-"

/ _Daughter this is important_!/

/ _We need to know where you received this book!_ /

She looked at them, then at the other two Sidhe standing there in worried confusion, and finally nodded.

"Ah... well... he said his name was Aedh. Told me I could keep it to remember him by...?"

Both phoenixes seemed stunned, as did both Sidhe. She looked around at each of them, unsure.

"What? Who was he?"

/ _Are you absolutely certain?_ /

"Are you quite sure?"

She looked between Zaltheim and Iridius, blinking.

"Uh-uhm... yeah....."

Both birds suddenly gave off waves of relief and happiness, making her stare at them in shock, and she turned to see Iridius swiping a hand over his face, pale, but he was huffing a disbelieving laugh. 

"What? Will someone tell me who he was?"

/ _He was our Fire Lord, one of the Great Four._ /

"F-fire Lord? Great Four? What are you talking about?"

Iridius shook his head, and pushed to his feet.

"No, this must wait until the Prince gets here... then we will try to explain what we can. Wraith stay with her, I must... I will be back by lunchtime."

"Iridius? But...."

She turned to watch as the scholar left, hurried footsteps carrying him away. She glanced up at Wraith as the door swung shut behind him, and he threw up his hands.

"I do not know!"

She looked back at the two birds, who seemed a bit perplexed as well, but they shook it off.

/ _Perhaps they knew of something we did not. We shall wait as he said, and add our explanations to their story._ /

She sighed and dropped her head down onto the desk with a muttered curse against all these damned complicated sidhe, making both birds caw out a laugh.

"Fine. Fine fine whatever."

So she straightened, reached for the book, and pulled it in front of her, opening the cover. No sense in brooding about it, she obviously wasn't getting any answers until lunchtime. Damnit.

"But I'm looking at my new book till then."

She still couldn't translate the few runes yet, but the writing was beautiful, and each page was hand painted in the most breathtakingly amazing portraits of lands she'd ever seen. Like something out of a fairy tale, utterly gorgeous landscapes, skies, castles, villages, forests, and everything.

"Woooooooooow.... this is... this is... by the gods this is gorgeous... are these places real?"

Both phoenixes looked a little sad, like remembering something loved that was long gone.

/ _Of a sort, daughter..._ /

Then she turned a page, and came to one of a great cave with a mural across one wall, underneath scattered with untold amounts of jewels and gold, trinkets and things, all shining and glittering in torchlight. And there, Sareindiel, dwarfed by the great mural on the wall of the cave, scales glimmering, eyes trained on several people in front of her. Three of which were obviously brothers, because they all had the same face. One was a much younger Boreas, with his black and silver clothes, and metallic eyes. The other, Aedh, looking just as strangely young, in robes of black and red, with what looked like Zaltheim perched on his shoulder. The other, she didn't know, but he was the same, another brother, in black and dark blue. She recognized a few others of the Sidhe standing there, Morrigan for one, obviously with child, Aurii, Iridius... even Stratos.

She looked up wide eyed at the somber birds, unsure what to even say, jumping at Dainia's voice.

/ _Yes. And this was some of the subject of your visit with Sareindiel._ /

"Startin t'feel really left out of the loop here..."

She muttered, chin propped in her hand, staring morosely at the page. Dainia sent her a sympathetic look and Aurora sighed, flipping the page, fingers dragging along the old parchment. One side was a closer view of the painting, more detailed, and she looked at it a little closer. 

"Can you tell me what the painting is at least, Dainia?"

She glanced up, tearing her gaze away to focus on the phoenix as she stepped off her perch and walked over, settling her feathers as she peered at the book in question, dipping her beak.

/ _A prophecy._ /

Aurora blinked, looking back down at all the images. It did seem like a story, each piece beautifully detailed, skipping between the scenes with some flowing manuscript she couldn't make out. She flipped through the pages slowly with the Phoenix watching, glancing over each one without seeing the details too much, mainly because she wanted a more in depth description she obviously wouldn't get yet.

"So.. its a story, a vision of things to come, right? Who painted it?"

/ _Yes. It was the last keeper of the element of spirits, he who bound the keepers of the elements together; the Great Four, and the keepers of light and shadow._ /

"The last ...keeper of the element of spirits?"

Grief this was getting confusing. The pheonix hesitated, but nodded.

/ _Iridius took up the mantel after the great Merlin fell-_ /

" **MERLIN?!?** "

Dainia squawked in surprise at her shocked shout, making her cringe and holding up her hands as the bird gave her a dirty look, shaking to try to settle her ruffled feathers.

"S-sorry Dainia... but.. Merlin? As in, THE Merlin?!"

/ _Perhaps? I do not know if it is a merlin you would know or not. Perhaps from your old histories?_ /

"Y-yeah... holy shit."

/ _You say that often._ /

"I have reason to... I mean... Merlin... just... wow."

Zaltheim was cackling softly, and she turned the page, shaking her head, looking at the next painting. She froze suddenly, a choked sound making both Phoenixes and Wraith jump in alarm. 

"Aurora? What is-"

"Is that's.... I-is that... me?!"

Wraith put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, leaning over to look. He and both birds were suspiciously silent, and she could only stare down at the painting of her yelling in fear and fury, down at her pond, leaning over the edge, reaching a desperate hand to the churning water where Chopper was flailing, trying to swim, a long black tail wrapped around his middle as it pulled him into the depths while overhead lightening flashed. She stared long enough that Wraith reached forward, pulling her around to face him, kneeling down in front of her. He took both her hands in his, chaffing them together, and she knew they were cold, numb, like she felt down to her core.

"It will be alright my lady, I promise you. We will get an explanation from-"

"Did you know about this?"

Her whisper made him jerk, and he dropped his eyes with a sigh.

"It had been hundreds of years since I have seen that painting my lady, I have not thought of it in early as long, nor did I pay it very much attention when I did. I could not have told you that your likeness was there, I did not remember."

She stared into his dark gaze, reading the sincerity, letting out a relieved breath. Everything felt like it was closing in around her, making her breathing laboured.

"O-okay... okay...its.. its okay... right? Its okay right?!"

"It is okay, take a deep breath, let it out slowly, just breathe."

She nodded, trying hard to comply, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to ignore the thousands of sudden questions banging around her head like screaming voices.

She was in a prophecy that was thousands of years old, painted by Merlin, in a world she'd never been to. She bent over and leaned her head between her knees, breath wheezing in her constricted lungs. Wraith rubbed her back, trying to murmur soothingly to her, but her mind was reeling. She was going to hyperventilate.

"This is insanity, no way... no way..."

The door swung open, and two murmuring voices cut off with cries off alarm, feet thundering over to her. Wraith moved, and she was surrounded by the scent of the sea as Tristan wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and sitting down with her in his lap. He was murmuring something, some nonsense, rubbing her back and arms as Wraith sputtered an explanation. She wrapped her hands in his robes and buried her face in his neck, just trying to breathe, listened to the rumble of his voice, soaked up the heat of him. She was losing her mind-

"It is alright flower, just take slow breaths, it is okay.. "

Was it? _Was it really?!_

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

 

"Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the land was at peace. It prospered under the rule of true kings and queens. The people were all as family, companions and friends, the lands fruitful, bountiful in harvests and fields overflowed with the hard work of the people who lovingly tended them. Our gods were happy, smiling down upon us, and we flourished as we learned. We grew in magic, in sciences and maths, our scholars unlocked more knowledge each day, and the world of Fearie was brilliant, glorious, amazing, virile. 

But nature rules that were there is light, there must be shadow, for there can be no day without the night.

So, as with all things in the worlds, the darkness came. 

Beings appeared in our world, hulking brutes with no mind of greater things, no hearts for peace and softer feelings. They cared only for themselves, for the lands they wanted, the things they felt were rightfully theirs. They craved war, bloodshed, fighting.. they had no concept of peace such as our world displayed. Wars erupted as our ancestors began trying to fight them off, to drive them away...

It was a terrible time in our histories...

They were long, hard fought, gruesome years. Our lands were ravaged, people destroyed. Our bloodlines were broken, and by the pillaging and destruction sewed by the invaders, so came new races, half bloods, and those tainted by the darkness of their parentage. 

Our most advanced scholar, one far ahead of his time, stepped up amidst the growing chaos. He was a beacon of light in times shrouded in shadow, and with his courage and bravery, he united the wayward forces of our people, no matter of age or blood, and lead our people to fight.

Years passed before the invaders were driven from our word, yet victory was bittersweet standing in the ruins of our once glorious land. 

The same mighty figure stood as our leader, helping us to rebuild, to regrow, to begin fixing that which had been lost. 

But for those whose hearts had been broken, it was no easy task to look at the children of the beasts who had killed so many loved ones, destroyed so much of our world.

And so, to help, this wise leader created two great courts in our world to rule over the Sidhe; that of the Seelie, the pure, shining court, and that of the UnSeelie, for those born of shadow. He meant it to give everyone a home, to give peace, not to start a smaller war between the races, or set up some prejudiced fear against the children of the UnSeelie, but that is how it turned out.

Once the world was growing again, the great wizard turned his eye elsewhere, and through his prophecies, his magic, he was told from the great god and goddess that his helped was needed. 

On a world much younger than ours, in a vastly different place, the creatures of war and death had fled to take refuge. And they were on the very cusp of wiping out the native people of that land who were much different than we; weaker, younger, vulnerable, innocent even.

The great gods wanted the Fir Bholg wiped out, before they could spread their hatred to others.

So our great leader, Merlin, began to make preparations. 

It was said the gods gave him an amount of time before he had to go, because time passed differently in that other place, years here were something like days, or weeks, there. So Merlin sat down in his study, and placed as much of his knowledge as he could down in scrolls and books. The items he and the other most powerful scholars and leaders of the time had created during war, or were given as gifts from the gods, were written about, and he spoke of secrets many of us still do not understand or fathom about the now ancient relics. 

He began a ceremony to keep together the fabric of our world, the life, the land, and the people, as if he had quietly foreseen the civil wars brewing.

It was a ritual that strengthened the natural magic in our lands, breathed new life into it and the people, the animals, and all life, and kept up the boundary around our world that kept us safe from new intruders like the Fir Bholg. 

After the first ceremony, called the Carminum Rituum, when he had hand picked the truest Sidhe from both sides of the courts, the land rejoiced. Festivals were had for days, and the celebrations were overflowing with the good cheer, familiarity, and love for everyone. 

Then Merlin disappeared.

When one of our scholars found him a week later, he was deep in a cave, one situated in the lands of the UnSeelie, and with his hands and his magic he had painted a prophecy, a vision, the last given to him before his journey to the other world. It spread throughout the cave, and all who saw it were in awe. He explained that the prophecy was not something to be set in stone, because the will of the people would change it, be it for better or worse. The people cried out, how was it a prophecy if it was not the truth of what would come? Merlin's answer was simple.

'Because the gods do not outline every breath we take, every action we make. We all stand before crossroads throughout our lives, some with greater impact than others, and although the gods can see what will unfurl from each decision, we cannot see so very far ahead. The possibilities are limitless, and we must but simply do the best we can. Or for some, the worst. This prophecy outlines several events that will come to pass, no matter the decisions made. Some things, however small or large, will effect the outcome, will change where the roads converge next. This will show the crossroads, and what lies down each path, but not how to get there. That will depend upon the person. But it is meant as a source of hope, inspiration, of light, for all those trapped in darkness.'

And so the people listened, but still did not entirely understand. Still, they believed in their gods, and the great wizard who had pulled them out of darkness and death.

One final thing he did before he left this world was to receive one last gift from the gods. He forged these gifts into two crowns, each becoming the High Crown for the rightful kings and queens. So that the rulers, charged with the protecting and guiding of our land, would be handpicked by the gods themselves.

For a time after Merlin's departure, all was well. But the darkness claimed many, and there were civil wars throughout the lands. More lines were drawn between the beings of both courts, and then even to the flora and fauna of the lands. 

Every six years, the Carminum Rituum was held by those chosen with the power, and the lands were calm again for a time. 

Merlin reappeared for periods of time throughout the years, bringing back stories and artifacts, things gained in his travels.

Once the small contingent of soldiers he had taken with him to defeat the remainder of the Fir Bholg won, he left them there to teach the species called 'humans' about magic and the arts. He spoke of a King Arthur, a sword which chose the rightful heir to the throne in that land like our crowns did here named Excalibur. And he eventually brought with him a woman born of the offspring of gods and humans from that world which had become his consort, a powerful mageiss in her own right.  
Merlin traversed many worlds, spoke of many wonders, and over time his visits back to his home, back to the land of the Sidhe, became farther and farther apart. Until at long last, the Sidhe gave up hope that he would return again, and it was assumed he had finally fallen in some mysterious kingdom on a land far, far away.

By this time many of our relics had faded away, the greatest of us lost in useless, bloody wars between the UnSeelie and the Seelie, and the land was in shadow. 

The Carminum Rituum was unable to be filled at long last, and the renewal of our magic, of our very life force, has since dwindled. It is almost as if our land cannot rejuvenate itself without the ritual. All because of the betrayal of a brother."

Aurora turned away from the book whose pages she had turned slowly, reverently, watching the story unfold before her eyes while Iridius's soft voice filled the air around her. Her fingers grazed the painted memories, that of the prophecy, stopping once again on the picture of with all of the sidhe next to the dragon. He had spoke with such conviction, such pride, and heartbreak, and she had listened intently to it all, trying to make sense of the words that seemed like nothing but an impossible fairytale. Tristan shifted slightly, hand warm against her spine as he continued to gently rub soothing circles on her back, and she kept the contented hum in her throat. He'd not let her up even after she'd gotten over the panic attack, instead having Iridius begin the explanation of the prophecy to distract her.

"That's... amazing,... and terrible at the same time.... But what happened with the brother that stopped the ritual? And why did it stop the.. C-Carminum Ritu-uum ?"

Iridius looked pained, sorrow filling those crystalline eyes to the brim, making her turn completely to face him as her heart clenched. It had to be bad to cause such a look on his face. Around them the others continued to sit quietly and listen; Stratos, Wraith, Sine, Zaltheim, and Dainia. Even the normal sounds of the animals Iridius kept inside his solar room were unusually quiet, as if aware of the gravity of the conversation going on in their midst.

Tristan still huffed a small laugh at her trying to repeat the Latin sounding name, making her cut her eyes at him.

"It is also called the Ritual of Harmony, flower."

"Ah. Easier to say."

He hummed softly, and sent her a small fond smile while she turned back to Iridius. The curl of lips he'd had at their small exchange was fading as he sighed.

"First, allow me to explain what the ritual is... There is someone present to represent each element. One at each four points of the circle, or a guardian if you will."

She stiffened slightly, wheels turning and clicking in her head, but when she didn't blurt anything out, Iridius continued.

"Each are chosen for their power, their spirit, their skill with the element which they were born attuned to. For North, there is Air, free and wild. West is water, fluid and ever moving. South is fire, passionate and consuming. East is earth, strong and steadfast. In the center is the trifectra. There will be one of Night, over moon and shadows. One of day, over sun and light. And then, perhaps the most essential to the ritual if not the most powerful, the one of Spirit. It is this one which brings together all the rest, helping them raise their powers together, and twine them into a harmonious chord. The power raised in the ritual explodes out when the ritual is complete, and soaks into the land, the people, animals, everything. It renews the entire world of Fearie, and was the most important thing before... but when betrayal brought down several of those who represented the elements... well.

Despite our tries, we have not been able to find the next holders of the elements. I had also hosted as the element of spirit, because I was the only one who could, but even I was not truly chosen. I was Merlin's pupil, and he had always been the spirit before.. after his departure, I was simply not able to raise the power as high as he could, and so the ritual suffered. It is quite the hard thing to do, bringing each of the elements into perfect harmony together..."

So many questions and possibilities were screaming through her head, making her press her fingers to her temples to stop the sudden throbbing. Elements and betrayal and ancient rituals oh my!

She jerked at the cool touch against her forehead, popping open her eyes to see the sympathetic smile of her tutor as instant relief swept through her head and brought her shoulders slumping from the pain slipping away.

"Thank you Iridius."

He dipped his head and leaned back in his chair, fingers twisting together nervously. She waited just a moment before prompting him gently.

"So... the brothers, one betrayed the other? What happened?"

"My darling older brother drove himself to madness with jealousy that our nephew Tristan would be chosen as the Western Guardian, therefore replacing him when he came into his power."

They all whirled, Iridius's expression going guilty, Tristan's pained, and her gasping in surprise at the smooth voice.

"Uncle! When did you-"

Boreas waved away the questions as he stalked forward, robes billowing, arms clasped at his back as the door to the solar swung shut behind him. Stratos and Wraith both jumped up, moving aside their chairs to drag another plush one over so that he could sit in the triangle with Tristan, Iridius, and her. He murmured a soft thank you when they pulled their chairs back up close again as he fell into it, sprawling across it as if he had no care in the world.

"I have already met with my sister and seen the King, so of course I came looking for the lot of you. I overheard the end of your conversation. I am assuming this means you are finally telling her about the prophecy and the Carminum ritual?"

"Yes we were...."

Iridius seemed hesitant, and she again wondered why, but then she thought perhaps he thought it rude to tell a story that so obviously must involve the UnSeelie king in such a personal way.

"They were just fixin to tell me what happened with the element ah.... guardians, and your brother."

Metallic eyes flicked to hers as he propped his chin in his hand, ever the careless, jovial, relaxed king. But she could see something darker under that mirror like surface; anger, betrayal, and a deep, burning ache.

"Brothers."

The soft word shouldn't have caused such a reaction, but a second after he uttered it, it clicked inside her head, and she stared at him in wide eyed horror. The responding quirk of his lips was sharp as the curve of a blade and bright as the hardened chips his eyes had become.

"Oh... Boreas I'm..."

He held up a hand and she stuttered off, eyebrows raising as she dipped her chin. His voice was a low rumble as he started, lashes lowering to hide the emotions flickering in his eyes.

"My family consisted of the oldest, Llyr, born to the powers of water. Mother often joked that he had been born with gills. Then there was Morrigan, with her powers of springtime, growth and flowery crap."

He huffed a laugh, and shook his head lightly, making her smile at the fond sound.

"There was me, and finally, the baby, Aedh. Born to fire, and he was everything that one expected from a full fire element. He was all heat, determination, stubbornness, passionate, everything..."

_Was..?_ Her thoughts stumbled on themselves, and she opened her mouth, then snapped it shut at Dainia's cautioning voice speaking up quietly in her head.

/ _Wait child. Allow him to finish his story, and be very sure of your words before you express them._ /

She gave the Phoenix a barely perceptible nod, then looked back at Boreas who had taken in a long breath.

"With the power the three of us held, we knew early on that we would end up becoming three of the four elementals in the great ritual. It is a great honor to be chosen for such a thing, and a mark of high power, as well as a sign of favor from the gods. When we reached our peak, as we had long thought, Iridius came and brought us under his wing to teach us. The artifacts had appeared to all three of us, and it was a day of celebration. Our parents were overjoyed to learn that three of their children would 'become something', and then Morrigan became engaged to marry Aurii, who only weeks later was crowned High King of the Seelie. All was right in the world."

The bitterness in his voice was painful, like broken shards of glass, and she cringed.

"Years of peace, happiness; all was well... then my sister became pregnant. Children are a gift, rare, and so again our family was on top of the world. It was when she had my darling nephew, whom we all loved instantly, that things began to sour. Or really, when it was decided he was a child of the sea. We all looked over it, because of our love between us as siblings, but looking back I can see the trouble brewing. I simply wish it had been... well. Llyr's jealousy over the fact that he just -knew- he would be replaced when Tristan came of age drove him to madness. We could all see the boys potential, as he showed as much if not more than Llyr and Aedh had so much younger. He drew away from all of us over the years, locking himself within his home with his scrolls and magic 'experiments', claiming to want nothing but the furthering of knowledge..."

Boreas trailed off, took a deep breath, and continued in a more neutral tone, as if having to force the words out.

"He deceived us all.... He was actually planning a way to be able to kill everyone who held one of the elemental artifacts, and gather them all for himself, so that he could be the most powerful. So that he could never be replaced."

She felt tears pricking her eyes. God at the sorrow in his voice, it made her hurt for him, and angry on his behalf.

"He killed our parents, attempted to kill Tristan, then came after me and Aedh as well. Aedh and Morrigan refused to believe it.. Morrigan thought that he had been bespelled, and wanted to help him. She refused to see the truth, even then... with our parents blood still tinting the ground in crimson splatters. Were it not for my intervention, he would have slaughtered her and Tristan both. I was terribly wounded when he ran away, and he... fought with Aedh. He.. we never found him, only the proof of their fight. Aedh was never found again, but shortly after that, Llyr reappeared to my sister, and she said that they fought. She told everyone that she had finished him off, being that he had still been wounded, and left his body. I have never really believed it, I still think that she took pity on him, and that she perhaps secreted him away somewhere..."

Boreas covered his face with his hands, and Iridius picked it up from there in a low tone.

"Boreas became the UnSeelie king not long after, and almost all of our elementals were lost. No others have been chosen, and so the ritual has not been done in hundreds of years..." 

"...what about the artifacts?"

Iridius shook his head, but Boreas's voice cut him off before he answered.

"Morrigan said that when she saw him, Llyr had managed to keep the water artifact, had obtained the earth artifact, which had been mine, and had.. had gotten the fire artifact."

She shifted, so many things wanting to burst off the end of her tongue, but she made herself breathe.

"There was quite the scandal, and the only reason that... that Llyr made it to Aedh is because he had ran away.. Llyr framed him for the murder of our parents, saying that he was the one truly wanting the artifacts, and proclaiming his own innocence. It is to .. my own eternal shame that even I had started to doubt him, my own baby brother, who I was suppose to protect.. and when he thought he had no other recourse, he ran.. b-because everyone... they all.... they all called him.."

Everyone was looking at him, with sadness, horror, and apparently morbid curiosity as well. It seemed they didn't know what he'd been called by his siblings before he'd ran. Then in her mind, a flash of lips, twisted in a bitterly sad half smirk murmured the words, and she repeated them before she thought better of it.

"The big bad wolf."

Boreas's head snapped up, red rimmed eyes focusing on her like lasers. The others turned to her in stunned confusion, and the hiss that escaped the King's mouth made the hairs on her arms stand straight up. He was out of the chair in a blur of movement, faster than she could gasp out even a protest, and her world spun. Her feet were scraping at the floor, barely reaching as she squeaked. Boreas's face was twisted with sorrow, a bitter heartbreak as his hand twisted in the collar of her dress to hold her up eye level to him. His lip curled as tears welled, metallic eyes sparking at her as liquid heat rolled over her skin, bringing the harsh stinging of too much power. 

"What did you say?!"

She gulped, hands clamping onto his wrists, taking a slow breath when his teeth clicked together menacingly. Despite his hold, he wasn't hurting her, although she got the threat loud and clear, even if she didn't quite put any stock into it. Maybe she was suicidal.

"H-he called himself t-the Big bad wolf."

She could just barely see the others from the corners of her eye, all pushed to their feet, but hesitating, afraid to make the situation worse and push him over the edge. She wasn't scared of that, she wanted to make him feel better. There were world of pain in those eyes. His broken whisper made her want to go strangle the life out of the one who had caused it.

"How .... how could you possibly know that?"

He arms were trembling as he lowered her to her feet, still holding tightly to her dress, a terrible hope shining in the depths of his tricolored gaze.

"I... I met him, last night."

He went so pale she thought he might faint, but he suddenly dropped like dead weight into the chair behind him, fingers still curled into her dress and taking her flailing over with him. She caught the arms of the chair and then lowered herself to her knees, ignoring the silence of the room behind her, refusing to break eye contact with him.

"No-no that is impossible you c-could not have-"

"I did. And I will tell you what happened."

The others slowly backed off, settling back onto the edges of their chairs as she put her hands on the Kings knees, not allowing him to look away and deny her words. She told them what she remembered of the conversation through the mirror, of falling asleep. Then of the whispers, the tunnel, the man, the odd music, and his home. As she neared the end of her tale, the whispers slithered through her senses, told her to caution her words, and she bit off the end where she knew exactly where his cave was, and how to get there. She said it was so dark, she didn't think she could ever find it again. Which, honestly, may even be true since she didn't know for sure whether she could or not. When she was through, Boreas covered his face with his hands, at long last letting go of her dress. But she straightened up, reached for him, wound her arms around his neck as his breath rattled in his lungs.

"I really think it was him Boreas, I do..."

It was barely a moment, and then he wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face against her neck as he shook. She ran her fingers through his hair, aware of the crown so close to her fingers and the hum it gave off, making sure not to touch it. Tristan's voice brought her to tilt her head and look back questioningly.

"Flower... how... I do not even know where to begin with this knowledge. Are you certain of this?"

She nodded, pointing with her chin.

"He gave me that book. Zaltheim and Dainia both caught his scent from it, they had a mini freakout too, called 'im the fire lord."

Tristan looked over and Iridius nodded.

"It is the book I mentioned, where she saw the prophecy painted out, and the likeness of herself." 

"Book?"

The others didn't hear the soft mumble against the skin of her neck, but she twitched, glancing down at the king whose hands were twisted tightly in the material of her dress again, but this time around her hips were his arms wound around her. She settled into his lap with a soft sigh and looked back at Iridius.

"Will you hand it to me Iridius? ....thank you. I don't know why the 'whispers' lead me down there, whether it was to see him, or to get this book... maybe both. He painted it himself, I think. Remember I was looking at one when he came out, and I didn't realize I had clutched it when I was freaked out..."

She looked down at the red volume as Iridius placed the heavy tome in her lap. She vaguely wondered why she didn't have a chair of her own and was just kind of being moved from lap to lap, but she knew exactly why right now; she was comforting her friend. Said friend sniffled lightly, turning his head to look as she smoothed her hands over it. She froze for the barest second, almost flinching, at the cold, hard press of metal against the pulse in her neck. She could feel the barest brush of music from it, which sounded just like Boreas's, but softer, with a deeper thrum under it, and the unusual scent from it that she thought came from the shadows that accompanied Wraith's usual powers. Slithering echoed softly from the corners of the room, and she wondered if it was from the contact with the crown, or the thought of the shadows calling their attention. She noticed Wraith stiffen and glance over at them curiously, but nobody else seemed to notice them. She snapped her attention back down as Boreas reached up an unsteady hand to trace the cover of the book in her lap. For right now, unless someone else noticed it, she wasn't mentioning the crown thing. One too many strange ass occurrences at one time.

"It feels like his magic, warm like he always was..." 

She flipped open the book, turning the pages slowly, and after the first few, his breath caught, and she stilled her hand, looking down at him. His eyes were shining, and once again the gilded sheen of his eyes held a terrible hope, and a long hidden pain.

"That is... that was our escape.."

"Escape..?"

"Yes... we were close, Aedh and I, and when the politics, the crazyness, the every day life of everything we had to deal with brought us down, we would escape there as children, and play. We were the only two that knew of the significance of this place."

"Its beautiful..."

He hummed softly in his chest, raising his head, and as he began to turn the pages, the whispers invaded her mind again. They buzzed a question, one she'd already been aimed to ask, but had gotten distracted.

"Is there no way to call back the elemental artifacts?"

Eight pairs of eyes swung around to her in wide, questioning stares. 

"What? Its just a question."

Iridius reached up to rub the back of his neck, casting his eyes down.

"The prophecy explains the ritual in great detail. I am sure there is a way.. but it would be too dangerous without for sure having all of the elementals present, which we do not necessarily know the identities of.."

"But what about the spirit artifact? Could it not call the others back? Or at least with my magic maybe-"

Iridius pushed to his feet instantly, face flushing with anger, crystalline eyes snapping sudden fire as he pointed an imperious finger at her.

"NO! I forbid this as your mentor! You are not ready for such a task, nor for the knowledge of it, you are far too headstrong for your own good, and you could-"

"What the HELL do you mean you _FORBID ME a GODDAMN THING?!_ "

Stratos and Wraith both went wide eyed at the exchange, Tristan's jaw dropped, and Boreas's hands clutched desperately at her dress when she moved to surge to her feet, halting her with a jerk. 

"You heard me! That cave is a dangerous place on its own, despite your acquaintance with the dragon inside! Should you interpret the prophecy wrong - or gods forbid try something there that you are not ready for, your stroke of luck could run out at long last and all we would have on our hands would be a panicked dragon that none of us could understand and a pile of ashes left of _YOU_! _AND WHO DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD BLAME?_ Sareindiel, for one, and the rest of us for another! For even telling you about the sacred prophecy!"

She sputtered to a stop, glaring sullenly at him, arms crossed as she huffed.

"Sareindiel thought I should see it! She wanted to talk to me there, but m'not stupid enough to just try somethin THAT BIG for the hell of it!"

"No! Until we know more about the other things going on right now... we have far more pressing matters to attend to. Such as who is targeting the King, and what they want."

"Could it be the same guy? That Llyr?"

"No. Were he still alive, surely he would not be so foolish."

She stared at Iridius, suspicion flaring under her ribs as Tristan's gaze lowered to the ground, as did Stratos's. Boreas missed the look, still staring down at the book with a faraway look on his face, but she glanced across at Wraith, whose yellow eyes met hers with the same expression, and then Sine's, who seemed lost. 

But she and Wraith seemed to be of agreement that the scholars statement had been far too carefully worded for her liking.

 

 

Two more days passed, filled with a flurry of activity. There were half hearted arguments from her to Iridius on whether she should visit the prophecy or not, time spent making damn sure she avoided her superior bitch-queen-ness herself at all costs, time spent learning and controlling her magic under Iridius, and time spent talking over all this new information with Tristan, Boreas, Stratos, Wraith, and even Sine. For now though, when her mind was spinning crazily over everything she'd learned, she needed time to herself. To think, to breathe, and honestly, to plan.

Her bare feet moved quietly over the viridian grass of the gardens, hands clasped behind her back as she stared at the ground just ahead of her. Around her, the local fauna chirped, chittered, and continued scurrying around in their regular lives, ignoring her for the most part after the initial bout of surprise and interest. She huffed and shook her head, sending her free hair fluffing around her shoulders, and a musical clinking ringing out. Belle had insisted on trying to do her hair slightly differently today, and had made several small braids in her hair, twined with ribbon, and decorated with little brightly colored metal beads. It was pretty, she liked it well enough, and it did catch her attention every time she shook her head, which was often since it was a habit, as was unfortunately running her hand through her hair and flipping it back over her shoulder. She'd already fizzed out and halfway unraveled a few of the pretty braids. Oh well, she'd warned Belle it would happen but she'd wanted to try anyway.  
Then her mind came back to the most recent problems, and she sighed again. She just knew, although she couldn't say why, that there had to be a way for them to call back the elemental artifacts. She was also suspicious, and afraid that the infamous Llyr was still around somewhere. She knew nothing was infallible, so it was possible that he had indeed found a way to get the artifacts and keep them, even if they were enchanted by Merlin or the gods to appear to their 'rightful' keepers. But she also thought that meant there was surely a failsafe, or a power given to those who _should_ hold them, that would allow them to call them back. She was _sure_ there was. Why?

Because when she thought about it, those whispers hummed in acknowledgment with the barest sound in her head.

Maybe she should be freaked out by this, but she had become accustomed to the presence, and it felt familiar anyway. In a way that she didn't want to examine too closely lest she run into some truths she wasn't quite ready for yet, to be honest with herself. But she was kind of trying to avoid that. 

Just like she was planning to secret herself out of the damned castle and go visit Sareindiel all by herself if she had to. And she would, she knew it. The men couldn't break their vows to the prince by doing something expressly against his wishes, and she wouldn't put them in position to make that decision. It wasn't fair to them. 

But she _had_ to go. She had to find out what Sareindiel wanted to speak with her about. She wanted to know about the elements and the ritual, which Iridius had finally, grudgingly, admitted were outlined there in great detail. As for the prophecy itself, it could be damned. She didn't believe everything was 'fated' to be this way or that way. No sir no thank you. At least for the most part. After all, she believed in visions, or dreams, like small premonitions of the future, but not really to this extent she wouldn't think. 

She huffed a breath out, clenching her hands together behind her back as she walked. Seriously, she just couldn't get this stuff out of her head, and none of it made sense. Just when she got a few more pieces of the puzzle it seemed like there were three times as many more questions that popped up. She wanted some damned answers, because she was tired of trying to piece together a puzzle in the damned dark-

"Aack!"

She yelped in surprise, stumbling backwards, arms flailing as she slammed into what felt like a fucking brick wall out of nowhere. Steel clamped around her upper arms, halting her backwards fall onto her ass before she could hit. Then she was being steadied, checked over by a frantic Sidhe that was repeating a worried apology.

"I am so very sorry - are you alright? Please accept my apologies, I was not paying attention to where I was walking, are you hurt?"

She looked up, and up, at a golden skinned Sidhe that nearly hurt her eyes to look at. Her jaw dropped slightly, and he blinked, going still as he met her eyes.

"I-I'm fine.. w-who are y-you?"

When he realized she was standing on her own he dropped his hands and stepped back, making a sweeping bow before her with the strangest amount of grace she'd ever seen. He straightened up and tilted his head, offering her this boyishly charming smile, showcasing deep dimples and a wide toothy smile that looked entirely too natural on him.

"Belanus, my lady. And I already know who you are."

She felt her lips twitching up in an answering smile as warmth curled over her skin. It was coming from him, how odd was that? 

"Do you now?"

"Aye, you are the prince's consort, the human who has turned the courts onto their ear. It is quite a thing to see."

She laughed softly, shaking her head. 

"Its not like I was trying to, at least not yet. But thank you. Do I... know you though?"

"Ah, no I do not suppose you would... I am the keeper of the gardens."

She tilted her head, blinking up at him curiously, and he chuckled at her expression.

"I tend the gardens, keep them in order, make sure the plants are happy and healthy."

"Oh! Oh I get it! That's awesome! How do you... do that? Can you hear them?"

She clapped her hands together, eyes sparking, and he stared at her a moment in surprise before he burst into laughter. She dropped her hands with a sheepish grin, looking down at the ground.

"Ah, sorry, what I meant was uhm..."

"No, no youngling, you have done nothing wrong."

He wiped the corner of his eye, dropping a hand on her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze, bringing her gaze back up to his.

"It is simply that Iridius was quite right about your excitement to learn new things, especially that which you find interesting. Ah, but first!"

He stepped back and held his arms out at his sides, cocking his head as he smiled.

"Tell me, what do you think my power is?"

She looked at him in slight surprise, and he chuckled. 

"I am a friend of the scholar, and he speaks highly of you, and your potential powers. I simply wish to see if you can see what my base power is. He thinks it is one of your gifts, does he not?"

She nodded, remembering him mentioning that weeks ago, and took in a deep breath. It was simple, she could totally do this.

So she looked over him once, closely, paying attention. He was tall, like Stratos, but more lean like Wraith. His skin was the sun kissed gold that the Seelie thought so much of, and he wore normal clothing from the court; simple white pants, which were covered in stains of the blue-green grass, blotches of dirt, especially along his knees and down, barefoot, and with a sleeveless, wide necked shirt that was a bright, emerald green. His hair was pure gold, like someone had woven the strands out of the precious metal and given them life, loosely decorated with all sorts of flowers and twigs. She doubted it was on purpose, more perhaps gained in his daily working than anything. She noticed as he turned his arms that it seemed like he had runes in glittering lines down the tops of his arms, in a gold only a few shades darker than his skin, and they made her think of the blue ones on Tristan's arms. Come to think of it, she'd never asked about those. She shook her head and focused on him again, humming in her throat as she tapped her chin. He grinned again, putting his fists on his hips as if saying he thought she couldn't get it, but she was thinking. It suddenly struck her that she'd seen his face, or truthfully the likeness of it, from home.

He looked like some of the really old statues of Apollo. Huh.

But then his eyes caught her attention, and she stared a moment. They were tricolored, so he was obviously a full blooded Sidhe, and they were emerald green, a molten gold, and a bright sapphire blue, swirled around his pupil. Wow. She shook her head, then closed her eyes, because despite her first impression she wanted to know for sure. She listened for a second, discerning his music from that of the forest around her, listening to what was several trilling whistles, the play of flutes like wind through the trees, and the humming, crystalline sound like playing glasses filled with water. She'd never heard the like, but it was beautiful. She finally opened her eyes, smiling widely at him.

"You're like the sun."

His eyebrows rose incredulously, but his lips were twitching as he inclined his head.

"Very astute young one. Very good indeed. My power lies in the sun, in giving life to the plants and things of the land."

That wasn't all, she thought, no power was that simple, but she didn't need a full explanation. After all, she'd only guessed out loud because he'd asked; she'd learned it was intrusive to ask such questions to new Sidhe. She thought it akin to asking a woman her age back home; while it was fine to guess, you'd better not make a disparaging, or god forbid, wrong, comment out loud about it. She beamed at him none the less, happy she'd gotten it right.

"That's so cool though!" 

And she found, as she fell into step beside him at his gesture and smile, that she could forget about the troubles that had been running through her mind before. His warmth and smile was contagious. They walked back toward the Sithen together as she inquired more about his 'job', and his delighted explanations about so many things amazed her. He told her about several parts of the gardens she hadn't seen yet, like the trees that seemed like weeping willows, the field of bell flowers, and more. Suddenly she remembered something with a gasp just as they reached the edge of the clearing near one of the entryways to the Sithen, making him turn to her curiously.

"Could you help me with something?"

"I will certainly try. What is the matter?"

"No no, its nothing wrong.. I just, have these flowers I picked the other day, and I wanted to put them in good soil, to make them happy! I was hoping to plant them in my windowsill, so I could see them.."

He smiled at her, eyes glittering, and nodded.

"Of course. Do you remember what they are?"

She chewed her lip, trying to remember what Iridius had called them, and sighed.

"No, I forgot what Iridius called them. But I can bring them, I bet you wouldn't believe me anyway without seeing them..."

He blinked at her in surprise, then chuckled.

"Alright, how about this, you go get them, and meet me over by the red trees. There are several types of soil there, I am sure we could find an appropriate one there. I will go get one of the baskets for you to fill with soil and hang on your sill."

She nodded enthusiastically, watching which direction he pointed in, then hurried inside. It took her only a moment to pick up the silver bowl the moon flowers sat in, with an inch left of water. She wrapped both arms around it and darted out of the Sithen, moving faster when she caught a glimpse of the Queen rounding a corner. Nope nope nope!

She burst back out into the garden and turned in the direction of the red trees, she was sure that's where they were, about half a mile into the trees, and slowed her walk as she began murmuring to the flowers.

"Sorry I haven't done this already. Because me and Iridius can't seem to get along over one thing in particular I kept forgetting to ask him about your soil. I'm sorry. But we're gonna fix that right now! Belanus said he could help, he's the gardener.... sound good to you guys?"

They chimed happily, still strong she thought, despite only having had water for several days, and she was glad. She really did feel bad about forgetting.

Ten minutes into her walk, when she ended up near one of the ponds with the white trees with dark gold leaves, she sighed irritably.

"Shit. I've got turned around somewhere. Now how am I suppose to find Belanus?!"

The flowers tinkled merrily, and she sniffed at them. "Don't laugh, if I'm lost so are you!"

She didn't faze them any, making her smile and shake her head. But she still looked around, the smile fading as she wondered where she'd messed up. She didn't even know which direction she'd turned at wrong, she'd just have to go back to the Sithen and start again-

She froze, stiffening at a noise off to her side. Turning slowly, she watched through the thick brush as something moved around, coming closer, feet clopping across the ground as she caught the soft sound of rain. Her jaw fell as it stuck its head through the brush with a snort, freezing halfway out, one long muscled leg suspended as its ears rotated forward and it jerked its head up, eyeing her. 

"S-Silvestrum...!"

It tossed its head and nickered, puffing out another breath, this time with a cloud of smoke, and pawed nervously at the ground. Her voice came out breathless, soft and awe filled as she looked at him, and she moved very slowly to set the bowl of flowers down on the ground carefully.

"Aren't you such a beauty... wow.."

One of its ears flicked at her words, and those grey eyes landed on her, looking curious. She held out her hands, palms up, together, and cooed at him.

"C'mere boy, its okay.. I won't ... oh my god!"

He moved forward out of the brush, freezing as she gasped in horror, looking rather spooked. But she was staring at his hand leg, which he was favoring, limping to keep the weight off of it. There was something sticking out, like a stick, buried deep in his back flank, and she could see the blood running in a steady rivulet from the wound down his leg. Anger, bright and hot, shot up her spine as she thought of some asshole Sidhe purposely wounding the poor horse, and she had to grit her teeth to keep from growling. He was watching her warily, and she swallowed it back, holding her hand up to show him she didn't have anything, starting to talk to him softly as she inched forward a little at a time.

"If you'll stand still, and promise not to kick me, or bite me, I can help you with that. I can take out that damned... whatever that is, and it'll feel better, I can even heal it some for you. But you have to let me okay? Don't electrocute me or anything... "

She was within arms reach as he shied a little, but he was still watching her, and his breath was a little fast she thought, she hoped from the pain and not being scared. Scared horses were not good things. She held her hands out, waiting, and after a moment he tossed his head and began to lean forward until his breath fanned over her fingertips, sending smoke curling around her hands. She laughed softly, making him twitch and look at her, then resume his careful scenting of her. After just a moment he bumped her hand, and she moved to lay her hand against his nose in a light touch, smiling widely as he nickered at her but didn't shy away. She tried to keep the sound of her music soft and gentle as she let him get a little used to her, laughing outright as he dropped his head and butted his forehead against her side, knocking her a few steps back. Finally as she petted his neck she looked back at the wound and realized the thing wasn't a regular twig or something; she wasn't sure what it was.

She frowned at it, but kept talking to Silvestrum as he turned his head to watch her, smoothing her hands down his side as she moved toward it. 

"Okay, this looks really painful... how did you do this? My goodness... I hope you have healing powers like the Sidhe, or you may be hurting a while, even with my help. Okay, so here... woah woah its okay, its okay, shh, just relax, and I'll pull this out. It looks straight enough... inside there, anyway.. right. Okay, deep breath, one, two, -"

Before she said three he stiffened, and she grabbed the stick, pulling it straight out as fast as she could. He stomped his front hoof, sending an explosion of sparks across the ground, tossing his head as he trumpeted out a noise of pain followed by a long plume of smoke. She clutched the thing to her chest, keeping her palm pressed over the wound, and focused some of her magic into it, the way Iridius taught her. Silvestrum went still, muscles quivering as he resisted the urge to run, or maybe drop kick her, sides heaving with the effort. After just a moment, when she could feel the drain on her magic and knew it was working, he started to calm, dropping his head with a weak sound of relief, and some of the tension ran out of him. She finally stepped back, bloody hand curling into a fist as she watched him to see what he would do. He turned and looked at her a moment, those liquid eyes softer than they had been, and before she could blink he reached forward and licked his tongue up her cheek, snuffling at her with his big ass nose while she squeaked in disgusted amusement. She pushed his nose away and laughed, wiping at her face with a wince.

"You're welcome! Oh that's so wrong dude come on though, not cool yaaaargh."

He seemed to be laughing at her, the snorting sound unusual coming from a horse she thought, but she sent him a dirty look and moved over to the pond, dipping her hands in as she knelt down and scrubbed at her face. He clicked up beside her, lowering his head to drink while she washed the blood from her hand as well, and used part of her skirt to dry her face. She hesitated then, picking the 'stick' up from her lap where she'd just dropped it, rinsing the blood from it and drying it off to look at it.

"Where did you get this, huh? It looks... important."

It was white, wood from what she could tell, tapered from one end to the other. Around the thicker side, it had pieces coming off, curled in intricate loops and knots, decoratively she thought, where you were suppose to hold it, and little glowing runes carved into the length of it. It looked like a wand, but she hadn't seen anyone use one of those here. And if it was a wand, why the hell had someone stabbed the thunder horse with it for hells sake? She looked up at him, and he was watching her with intelligent eyes, waiting. She finally shrugged and pushed to her feet, moving over to her silver bowl. She hesitated a moment then pushed the wand into her pocket, wedging it into one of the adjustable loops on the garter around her thigh where her dagger stayed. She wouldn't lose it this way, hopefully. She tentatively moved a little, but it didn't hinder her any, so she picked up her bowl and balanced it on her hip with one hand, reaching out to pat Silvestrum on the shoulder. Which was tall as her damned head nearly. Big bastard.

"Alright.. I have to go find Belanus. He's gonna think I just ran off... well, if I can find him. Hey, you wouldn't know where he was, would you? The gardener... gold hair, bright eyes, really tall?"

She gestured, thinking of the sound of his music and copying it a little. Silvestrum whinnied at her, nodding his head several times as he smacked his hoof against the ground. She blinked at him in surprise and then smiled widely.

"Really? Could you show me??"

After a few stops and starts, where she figured out he wanted her to walk with her hand against his broad neck and follow, he started along at a slow pace. She walked along with him, keeping up a constant stream of random excited babbling, to which he seemed to answer occasionally with a nod or shake of his head or a huffing laugh. 

As the trees around them faded darker and changed to red she knew they were close, turning to look around as she called out.

"Belanus! Belanus I kind of got lost... are you still here?"

"Over here my lady!"

She turned, as did Silvestrum, as the brush shook and moved, and the gold Sidhe leapt over a log, beaming a wide smile at her that froze in place as he caught sight of the horse. His eyes went wide as his jaw dropped, and Silvestrum pranced a little nervously. She patted his neck and cooed at him again.

"Its okay, you can go now, thank you again for helping me Silvestrum..."

He watched the other sidhe, who was still gawking, and turned to bump his nose against her side. She wrapped an arm around his jaw in a gentle, one armed hug, then watched as he back up slowly, turning and trotting off into the woods. When she turned back, Belanus was still gaping, and she hummed a laugh, walking over to him.

"I got lost, and we helped each other out. He's a nice animal."

"N-nice..animal..."

He sputtered looking down at her incredulously, and she brought up the bowl of moon flowers, beaming happily at him.

"Yep! So, can you help me with my flowers?"

He reared back and focused on them, becoming even more surprised.

"T-those are... are flowers of the night! How..?"

She shrugged, sheepish. "I found them and they liked me?"

He blinked at her incredulously, before he nodded and snapped his jaw shut.

"Indeed... it seems you are far more than you seem my lady."

She blinked at him curiously, tilting her head in question, but he turned, gripping her wrist lightly.

"Come, I know the perfect soil for them. We shall have them situated in no time. Can you hear them as well? Wonderful! That will help immensely, come, come! This will be fun!"

She stumbled along and then followed, still wondering over what he said. Was that a good thing?

 

 

Dusk was falling as the two of them walked back inside the Sithen, laughing and talking as they turned toward her rooms. She had both arms wrapped around the moonflowers' bowl, which was full of dark, mineral rich, sparking soil that the flowers had happily burrowed into. He told her he would fashion her a special, small basket to hang on her windowsill so they could get sunlight, and more importantly, moonlight. The other baskets he'd brought had been too big, and he'd left them out there with a rueful shake of his head. As they turned a corner, her laughing at his story of trying to catch a raccoon like animal that had made away with one of his tools, they noticed several figures in the hallway that had turned to see them. The guys moved back so Tristan could step forward, and she hurried up excitedly, bringing the bowl up right to his nose. He reared back, wide eyed as he tried to focus.

"Look Tristan! Belanus helped me find good soil that I need for my flowers so they would be happy, cause they weren't since I'd kept them just in water so long they really needed soil, and he said he'd make me a planter thing so I could hang them on my window so they could get sun and moonlight and be super healthy and...."

She cut off as the guards began to chuckle, flushing sheepishly and lowering the bowl. Tristan's smile was bright though as he shook his head and answered her.

"I am glad you found something for your plants, my flower. I was just wondering where you had gotten off too this time."

She beamed at him, even when he pulled her against his side and left his arm over her shoulders, making her look up at him questioningly as he turned his head. His tricolored eyes were sharp as they landed on Belanus, who immediately bowed at the waist.

"My prince.."

Tristan hummed in his throat, and only then did the gardener rise, slowly lowering his hands.

"Thank you, Belanus, for keeping an eye on my consort today. She tends to... be everywhere at once."

She stuck her tongue out at him, earning her a soft chuckle, but he looked back at the other sidhe, and she thought his eyes were glittering. Belanus took a step back and bowed again, one hand across his chest.

"No thanks are necessary my lord. I must return to my duties now though. My lady, I should have your flower basket ready in only a few days."

"Thank you so much Belanus!"

"Of course, farewell my prince, my lady."

Then he turned and walked off, feet clipping the floors as he moved away, and Tristan looked down at her as he ushered her inside.

"Come, let us put your flowers away and we shall go to supper. Iridius will be waiting for us, as will Boreas."

"Oh awesome! I'm staaarving, yes! And I want to show you guys something when we get there, I saw Silvestrum today and he let me pet him and I got this thing from him and its so weird."

She rattled on excitedly while he shook his head with a laugh, sending am amused look toward the others who shared a smile with him, Stratos rolling his eyes fondly.

 

 

They had all been quite frankly amazed about Silvestrum's appearance, and him letting her help him, and then him helping her.

She thought it hilarious, and Stratos crowed triumphantly that he'd been right about the horse all along. But when the laughter died down after her argument with Stratos calling him on his bullshit, again, in complete fun really, she remembered the wand.  
So she stood, brushed off her dress, and beamed at the others as they turned a curious eye to her, most still smiling after her fit with Stratos. She glanced at Tristan as she rummaged for the wand in her pocket with both hands, animatedly talking, like she had been all day, as she turned towards Iridius.

"So I kept the thing that I got out of Silvestrum, the twig thing that hurt him! Its so weird I thought it might be important and that maybe you guys would know what it was or where it came from and we could find out how it got stuck in his flank like that because that was really mean and - damnit come out!"

It was mildly stuck, and she tugged at it with a frown while the others shared curious looks and waited patiently. She finally yanked and it came loose with a snick of sound, and she held it up with a triumphant bark. She brandished it in the air with a smirk and pointed it towards Iridius, who automatically reached for it to see, when she froze, staring at it. She blinked and brought it closer again, fingers pressing into the skin warmed wood against the runes that glittered. Her eyes went wide in wonder as the wand seemed to hum, and suddenly she didn't want to part with it.

"Flower?"

"Hmm....?"

She murmured the response, not taking her eyes from it as she continued to trace the outlines and listen. Why hadn't she heard it earlier? Why had she shown it to them? She should keep this and -

"Aurora.."

She jumped, snapped her gaze up to Tristan. When had he moved to stand in front of her?! Had he been talking to her? She frowned, opened her mouth, and promptly shut it as the buzz in her hands caught her attention again.

"Give me the wand."

She sniffed at him, yeah right, as if! She was playing with this, she found it. It was her pretty thing. But... it wasn't quite right.

What was missing? She turned it over, looking intently, trying to think. It was right, but wrong. Shouldn't it be... bigger? Yeah, maybe that was -

It was suddenly jerked from her grip and she gasped, giving an outraged squeal as she whipped her gaze up to Tristan. His lips were set into a thin line, cheeks flushed, eyes narrowed, and he tossed it to Iridius as she made a grab for it. She instantly turned, aiming to go after it, because it was hers she'd found it, and -

"Aurora!" 

Her world rebounded into place like a rubber band being snapped, eyes popping open wide at the half frantic tone. Hot hands caught her face and brought her around, stopping inches away from a wild, sea blue gaze flickering with lightening. He dropped his hands to her shoulders, giving her a non too gentle shake once he had her attention, making her squeak in mild outrage.

"Tristan what in the seven hells are you shaking me for? Jesus fucking Christ you're stronger than a damned ox you - oommphh!-???"

She flailed as he yanked her into a crushing hug, tucking her against his chest and wrapping both arms around her in a suffocating hold. She grabbed onto his hips and slid her hands up, shoving at his chest hard enough that he let go a fraction, letting her peel back enough to gasp in a breath of air before everything went black. She let out a strangled sound, and he eased his hold a little, leaning back to look at her sheepishly.

"What the ever living fuck are you doing?! I have to breathe!!"

"Ah.. sorry, flower... but you were... gone, there for a moment."

She blinked up at him in confusion, tilting her head, then finally she realized. She turned her head to see Iridius examining the thing while he pinched it between two fingers through a cloth, so as not to touch it. He looked up, and there was something different in those crystal eyes.

"Oh. I guess.., I was just... I got carried away by it. I was trying to figure out... what was wrong with it."

"What do you mean?"

She bit her lip, shrugging one shoulder, and shivered, leaning forward again to press her cheek against his collar. But she didn't take her eyes from Iridius.

"Its like.. I should know what that is, or that I do and cant remember, but its like... a copy, a mockery of something... its not quite right. It should be different.. I dunno, the hum was familiar too.. bah! Take it and do whatever with it...just keep it away from me..."

She turned away from the strange, almost calculating look in the scholars eyes, glad for the arms Tristan kept around her. She was cold, like something had seeped under her skin and stolen the very warmth from her bones. She shuddered, and Tristan suddenly swung her up into his arms.

"That is enough for tonight I believe. Uncle, if you would excuse us, I am going to see after my flower and put her to bed."

She heard the responding murmur, but she couldn't even force herself to complain. Right now she wanted away from that freakishly interesting, certainly enchanted piece of wood. She kept her fists clenched in the silk of the prince's tunic as he stopped to speak to Iridius, his voice a rumble under her ear, before he left the room.

"I will trust you to do with that as you need. Investigate, experiment, or just destroy it, I do not care. But keep it well away from others."

"Of course my lord."

"I will speak to you more on the morrow Iridius."

And with that, the air changed, became fresher out in the hallways, and she could barely hear Stratos and Wraith murmuring to each other with an occasional word from Tristan. She wouldn't focus on the words, just the noise, because for once, she was just a little freaked out. She didn't want anything at all to do with something that enchanting, and the whispers in her head seemed to agree with her decision.

 

\---

 

Iridius closed the door to his study behind him quietly, feet moving in silent steps though the deserted hallways barely an hour after Aurora had given him the wand. Under his skin anger was bubbling, boiling and brewing in an unwanted cauldron of emotion that made the chiming of his magic almost grating, even to his own ears. His eyes were snapping sparks as he moved though several rooms, before finding the occupant, as usual alone, in one of her favorite spots to sit and read at night. He closed the door behind him with a soft click, but she heard it still, putting down her book and standing with a rustle of skirts.

He whirled then, letting the fury leak into his normally composed features, and moved across the room in a blur of motion. Her bright eyes barely had time to widen in surprise and fear when he was suddenly in front of her, teeth bared, sparks bursting in the air around him as he brought up the wand. He waved it in front of her delicate nose, voice coming out a hiss of barely contained anger, especially when her tricolored eyes locked on the wand with recognition, then _real_ fear.

"Yes, I know you recognize this. Do you know where I found it?! Of course you do not, because _I_ did not find it! _Aurora_ found it, sticking out of the flank of the thunder horse, which she has made friends with, as I expected!"

She sputtered, trying to come up with something to say, some excuse to offer, but she had nothing, and they both knew it.

"It nearly entranced her when she held it! If it was not such a terrible mockery of the damned artifact it may have even succeeded, and then where would we be?! All because he lost his temper and flung one of his rejects at the horse he cannot stand? She brought this to me, wanting an answer for who would hurt the horse, and she did it in front of Tristan, and Boreas!"

She gasped, hand flying up to cover her throat, and his voice heated, took on a sharper edge that made her flinch back.

"You should be well lucky that they both focused on her, to make sure she was okay, instead of paying attention to the craftsmanship of this useless piece of poison! Had they recognized it, especially Boreas, then all these years of secrets and lies would have been for naught, and surely he would help Tristan to bring down your rule to nothing but ashes as he threatened to a fortnight ago! You know your brother far better than I, and yet you insist on holding these secrets from him and others. With this - _this carelessness, I am through! I wash my hands of you and him!_ "

He snarled the last as he thrust the wand at her, knocking her back a step in his fury as she scrambled to catch the thing, eyes going too wide.

"B-but Iridius you c-cannot-"

"I can and I will! I will do nothing to uncover your lies to the others, but I will no longer aid you and help you to cover it up. **I AM THROUGH!!** "

She flinched at his furious roar, clutching the wand with shaking hands to her chest, knuckles mottling white. He lowered his voice to that furious, scathing whisper, dangerously lethal in its quiet as he straightened and ran a hand through his hair to settle it.

"Through, Morrigan. Absolutely through. I suggest you take that thing to your brother, tell him to put away whatever nonsense he is working on, and go hide far, far away from here."

He leaned in close, almost nose to nose as he muttered the last part for her to hear, eyes flashing, hard as diamonds.

" _You know your brother better than I, and if he finds out you've been harboring the Sidhe who slayed his baby brother, -your- baby brother, and both of -your- parents, because you think he was misguided, I think you know what he will do. And I think you know the King of the UnSeelie will create a bloodbath the likes of which has not been seen in millennia. Perhaps that very realization fueled your change from 'I will tell him when he calms down,', to 'do not tell him, ever'. I think you had best think of some way to fix this universal catastrophe before it unravels at the seams, and you are pulled into the miasma it creates._ "

With that, Iridius stepped back from the shaking form, and spun on his heel, storming out, leaving her staring after him with wide terrified eyes.

 

 

Moments after the door closed, she slumped in on herself, drawing in a ragged breath, and let it out in a hiss of restrained fury. In moments she was across the room, pulling on her boots, swirling her black velvet cape over her dress and pulling the heavy hood up over her face as she tucked the wand up her sleeve. With a wave of her hand she created a glamour, a phantom of herself, asleep on the plush couch in one corner, and strode over to the far wall of her study. Placing her hand around one of the candlesticks, she tugged, staring around the room as she waited while the rocks slid open on well oiled, silent hinges. She lifted aside the tapestry, slipped through the doorway and pushed the button, watching as the door sealed back and plunged her into darkness. Then she whirled, cape flying, creating a small werelight to hover feet in front of her as she dashed down the dank, silent tunnel, feet carrying her down the all too familiar path.

Several minutes later, after a few twists and turns, she reached the end of the tunnel, throwing open the double doors to a round, bright room full of bookcases and tables, couches, tapestries, and all sorts of things fit for a noble. She glared at the middle hallway leading off the main room, a snarl curling her lips as stumbling footsteps came from inside. She swept into the room, slamming the doors shut behind her with a thunderous sound. From the bedroom staggered a man with long sea green hair that danced around him like water, and sparking eyes of gold, sapphire, and silver that focused on her blearily as he leaned against the doorway.

"S-Sister?! Wh-what-"

" **WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!** "

He flinched at her bellow, as she yanked the wand from her sleeve and hurled it at him, an anguished cry slipping past her throat as she stared at the man who looked so much like her beloved son, her loving father, her now cold brother, and her other brother who was -

"What by the gods are you yelling about woman?!"

He jumped around as the wand clattered to the ground and slid across to him, looking down at it in confusion, scowling heavily.

"That damned human girl found that in the thunder horse!"

His eyes widened, and she gasped in a ragged breath.

"And then she took it to Iridius, showed it to him in front of Tristan and Boreas! He could have recognized your work! He could have figured it all out! He could - he could -"

She gasped for breath, and he shot across the room, catching her as she crumbled into a sobbing heap, pulling her into his lap, rubbing her back and murmuring soothingly.

"Now, now, Morrigan. It is alright, he thinks I am long gone from this world, do not shake your head, all will be well."

"What shall we do Llyr? What if he finds out-"

He pressed a finger under her chin, lifted her up to meet his gaze, and smiled, a soft, warm curl of lips.

"Then I will handle it. Have no fear sister, all will be well in time. Perhaps we shall simply move up our plans.."

She buried her face against his neck and hiccupped a sob, nodding frantically, clutching desperate hands against him as he rocked her. He looked up above her head, glancing towards the ceiling, and consequently the world above, warm eyes going cold, filling with a manic, gleeful light. He reached up with one hand, touching his face, the scar that traveled from above his left eyebrow down across his eye and cheek. The one his 'loving' brother had given him in the fight so many years ago when he'd nearly won. What had nearly been a death blow, but the heart of his little brother was soft, and he had pulled the blow, hesitating at the last moment. 

Llyr had not been so kind.

But he hadn't won yet, oh no, he had not. And soon, his little brother would find that out. Soon, all the righteous, arrogant, proud Sidhe would see, would bow to him, because he would be High King, he would be the most powerful of them all. 

He would snuff them all out like candles in the wind without a second thought.

Some pathetic mortal slip of a girl would not bring down his plans after all these years, either.  
  


 


	17. Chance Meeting..?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, FINALLY!!! Heh, its been a few weeks.. sorry for the long ass time to update guys, I wrote out more than (because I checked) 14,400 words and then deleted it all because I didn't like it! heh, so it took a bit to get it just right...  
> So anyway, here,s the newest update!   
> This is now fully up to date, and this is also where I will be posting all the chapters from now on, and just posting links to these pages on my fb for my friends following it on there... 
> 
> Oh and one more thing! I'm making some arts for this chapter! Yay! Hehehehe. I'll ah... I'll add it when it's done so just check back later I guess? Anyway, read on!  
> And leave me some feedback if you want!

Aurora shifted around once more, replacing the old bandage with a new one since she was through checking over the King. She thought he was healing wonderfully, although the other Sidhe did not quite share her opinion. Thing was, he was just healing almost humanly slow, so it made the others nervous, but he was doing very good by her standards. Oh well.

The sleeping King had awakened yesterday afternoon she had been told, and had recognized someone who had been in the room, speaking briefly before falling asleep again. He looked quite peaceful, his color good, breathing deep and even. Iridius had said it would be alright that he wasn't eating, because they were healing him and feeding him energy now and then. He'd said while it wasn't as good as eating of course, that it would certainly still work in place of it since they had no other recourse.

She put away the few supplies she'd moved around while fixing him a fresh bandage, keeping things neat, and let her mind wander while she did so. She had to figure out what to do today, since she was technically by herself for the first time.

Back at home she'd grown used to it, after a few years on different shifts with her husband, but now after being here, surrounded by so many people and so such happening... it was strange.

The guards were all busy with practice and training, Tristan was busy taking care of Kingly stuff for his father, Chopper had been drafted to get some training and so was also out with the guards, which she did think funny, and even the two phoenixes had flown off and left her to her own devices, joining Iridius on a short trip to a nearby village to offer medical aid to a few injured Sidhe. Belle had also left bright and early to visit her sister, both of them having an off day together and therefore wanting to spend it with each other, which she understood. 

And currently envied a bit as well, truth be told.

She clicked the door shut behind her, nodding politely at the guard who stood outside the door, and turned to keep walking. She went to her moonflowers, checking on them and watering them for good measure, straightened up her room, and went to the kitchen, taking a small crescent roll for breakfast food and a glass of water before stepping back out. Sometimes she could talk to the sidhe over the kitchen, but they were busy today, and she didn't want to be underfoot even if they were too polite to tell her if she was.

So she took her little breakfast and went outside, sitting down under a big tree and crossing her legs, peering off into the forest as she nibbled on her crescent roll.

Once finished eating, and more than a little restless, she decided to get up and stroll through the woods. Maybe she could come across some animals that wanted to be friendly or something. Anything to keep her occupied. 

Because she kept replaying that whorl of music in her head, the one that had captured her attention yesterday when she'd held that wand. The one that had gotten the whispers in her head instantly protesting, but something within her pushing for her to _fix it_. She didn't know how to fix it, she didn't even know _what it was!_ All she knew was that it didn't sound right, it sounded broken, or like a badly mimed echo of something else.

She shook her head with a snarl and pushed to her feet, determined she was not going to keep worrying about that damned music. Ugh!

Instead she stomped off into the forest, swearing under her breath, and hellbent on actually paying attention to the beauty around her.

 

 

An hour later, she realized it was a fucking pointless try.

She slipped out into a small clearing, looking at the waterfall pouring lazily into a pool of water that led off into a stream, winding back through deeper forest. The dark grass under her feet trailed off into pure white sand that edged the pool, and she toes off her shoes, stepping up to the edge of the water and crouching down to look into it. The water was beautiful, a bright slash of green, more like shallow ocean than freshwater, glimmering silver across the top. A few big boulders protruded from the water here, slick and covered with dark purple moss, the only things breaking up the fall of water save for one other thing. 

Out in the center was what looked like a cast iron tripod, holding up a small cauldron above the water that was maybe a foot across and that deep, crackling with a little fire inside. 

_What on earth was it for_ , she wondered. 

Curiosity prompted her and finally she picked up her skirt, draping it over one arm, and started out towards the cauldron at a slow pace. She kept an eye on her footing as the water inched deeper, not wanting to just fall under, and finally made it over to the cauldron. Seeing as the water was just above her knees she looped a loose knot in the skirt to hold it up and bent to examine the cauldron closer. It was amazing on its own, the outside decorated with swirling, intricate designs, runes, and there in the center was a triangle. She stared at it in surprise a moment, wondering if it was coincidence or if it was actually there because it was the symbol for fire. Back at home she thought they were Aristotle's invention or something of the sort, but if they were here....

"Much, much older...."

She murmured to herself, blinking quickly and finally straightening to peer over into the cauldron itself.

"Oh wow....."

She barely breathed as she watched the little fires burning, wide eyed as they flickered and twisted with a life of their own. There were eight little flames dancing in the cauldron, seven of them the colors of the rainbow, and one in the center of the rest that burned pure white. Unsure what drove her to do it, she hesitantly lifted her hand and splayed her fingers out, lowering them tentatively to hover over the little fires. They recoiled shorter for a moment before growing higher. She nearly jerked away, but froze as the soft mumble of the whispers floating through her mind. She blinked and shook her head, looking back down to see them rise higher than before and tickle across her palm and fingers. They were warm, very much so, but they didn't burn as they danced against her skin, making her stare in wonder. Each one gave off soft hums as they moved, and she started to smile, twitching her fingers as she watched, spellbound at the little display before her. 

She jerked straight up and away at a sound off in the woods, the crack of a branch that sounded loud as a gunshot in her ears making her startle away. She looked all around a moment, listening intently, but she could hear nothing unusual in the trees around her. She finally let out the breath she'd been holding, looking back at the cauldron, doing a double take to stare at it in surprise.

" _T'hell....!?_ "

Inside the cauldron was a simple red and orange fire, crackling merrily over a few pieces of wood, but no sign of the colorful ones she'd just been messing with.

_Was she going crazy?_

No, maybe she was just projecting.

She sighed in aggravation and turned, stomping back to shore and shaking her feet a few times to dry them somewhat as she unknotted and put her skirt back down. After a moment of debating she settled down comfortably on the warm sand, watching the flames dance, then continued looking around. She could just see that there was a cave or something behind the waterfall, filled with pitch black shadows, the rocky ledges around it actually making steps back to it.

She shook her head at herself and pulled her gaze away. Nope. Not getting into trouble today. Too much weird shit already, no way. She could just ask one of the guys about the cauldron later.

Just sitting there was actually fine to her, slowly pulling the tension from her muscles. She watched the water as the breeze ruffled her hair, seeing the white froth spilling over the calmer water where the falls hit, and the glittering rainbow where the warm sunlight hit the mist just right.

Odd that this place seemed to have all the elements in it in abundance.

She flinched at the thought, curling her lip before she understood what it was she'd just realized. It made her look back at the little cauldron of fire with a frown, thinking.

Maybe that was why it was all here, like a sacred place or a place for magic working? 

She glared at the fire for several minutes as if it had personally offended her, then finally sighed. Oh screw it, she told herself. She'd been wanting to see if she could figure out what had been, well, _wrong_ , with that music since the night before. Maybe she could.

She took a deep breath and raised both hands, circling her fingers as she recalled the music as best she could, playing it in a short loop until she got it. She kept it all the same, and each part swirled in the little white circle above her hands like iridescent clouds, mixing lazily. Then she realized no, it wasn't. The strands weren't merging, they were clanging together, sawing at each other, making her wince with the chaotic noise.

But it was like she could just _almost_ hear what it was suppose to sound like.

She stared at it a few moments, pondering it, and thought she'd heard the strands of music before. She turned her head to look around, listening again to the music around her of the forest, intent as she tried to sort through the noises. 

_There._

She flicked her gaze to the ground beside her, eyebrows furrowing as she listened. It was like the earths song, one she'd heard a long time, a steady rhythmic drum. 

Why hadn't she ever noticed that before?

It took her a few more minutes, but after that was able to discern the fact that while every living thing had its own music, so did each element. She could hear the songs running at the base, below everything else, and it surprised her that she hadn't caught it before.

She realized with a gasp of shock that the little loop of music she had mimicked seemed to be made up of several elemental songs.

But they weren't quite.... right.

She wondered, with a sudden burst of daring, if she could do it. If she could fix it.

She felt like she could.

Aurora straightened her shoulders, took in a slow breath, and focused on one at a time. She pulled up the sound of the earth beneath her, the steady pulse of drums, watched as a loop of the music formed and lifted in front of her, prowling through the air like a great cat, a dark green, glittering furl of rhythm. She let out a relieved laugh, watching it in the light, proud of herself. 

"Wow.... okay okay, come on..."

The wind was still blowing, and she reached for it next, hearing the trilling of flutes. It curled out of the air, a glimmering strand of yellow much like the green one, dancing across the breeze to her and winding around her hand playfully. She smiled and murmured softly to it, directing it towards the earths song.

Now this, she thought, was where it could get tricky. She wasn't sure how she knew that, but she did.

The yellow strand moved over, circling the green loop, waiting on her. She listened to them a moment, and when she felt it was right began weaving them together.

There was almost no resistance, much to her surprise, and as she relaxed her hold the two stands continued to run together smoothly, the music pleasant.

"Holy shit..."

She swallowed and forced herself to continue before she got so amazed she dropped the connection or whatever it was. 

With the warmth on her skin, she looked up, glancing quickly towards the suns above and back down. Yeah, she would try that next. 

It seemed to take a bit more effort this time, but she called a slanting beam of music to her, warm and golden, tinged with a red hue at the edges. This one was more of a deep sound, like a cello or something of that nature, and it took her a little more effort to blend it into the others. 

But she did it.

She almost clapped her hands, but stopped, afraid the notes would follow her and smash together.

What next? Maybe there was a method to this, maybe she needed something cooler, not so warm in its base. She almost reached for the water but stopped, glancing towards the shadowy interior of the cave behind the fall. 

_That next._

The next strand came out of the depths of the cave, cool and sultry, a pitch black sinuous twist of violins that carried over to her, wound around her and made her sigh breathily. She didn't know why exactly, but she definitely liked the shadows, they called to her. It made her instantly think of Wraith's music, and even a little of Boreas's, although his seemed like a mixture of shadows and earth now that she thought about it. 

She refocused on the task at hand then, before she lost what she was doing, and began to work on weaving it in with the others. It didn't take as much effort this time and she wondered why exactly. 

But the music was sounding beautiful, an amazing croon of sound that was almost haunting to her ears.

She shook it off and glanced at the water, chewing her lip, before nodding to herself and reaching for it.

This, she thought several minutes later, hands starting to tremble with effort, was _harder_. The sapphire furl of music that had flowed out of the pool glimmered, sounding like the lilting of harps, but was almost impossible to hold onto, much less work into the loop of music she still held circling over her other hand. A bead of sweat trickled down her temple, making her want to shake it off, but she was afraid to move. 

She slowed her breathing that had quickened with the strain, refocused, and kept on, gently twining the harps in amidst the other sounds, and finally it was starting to click into place. But it was almost fighting her every step of the way! Her eyes narrowed as she stared intently, concentrating firmly on the music, and it was so close, she almost had-

"Water is a bit trickier than others, so hard to control or tame, perhaps more so than fire even..."

The low rumble across from her made her jerk in surprise, and she dropped the hold on the water with a startled gasp. She just managed to cup her hands together and hang on to the other loops of sound as her gaze snapped across the pond to the owner of the voice, and her breath stopped in her throat.

Standing there in water up to his knees, bare feet spread in the sand like he belonged there was a man. One with the all too familiar face of a fallen angel, sharp angles and full lips, with half lidded eyes staring across at her intently. They were bottomless like the ocean, sparkling gold, silver, and a deep sapphire blue, glinting at her with a million secrets. Ones that she thought if she only asked about she could learn.

Her jaw fell open, making his lips quirk slightly in amusement, highlighting a dimple on one side, but still she noticed the faded scar across his eye, marring the otherwise perfect moonlit skin. How hard was it to do that to a Sidhe? And why did it seem to mirror Aedh's, only a bit longer, like it had been a worse blow? 

He crossed his arms over his bare chest, drawing her gaze to the runes that danced down his arms like Tristan's, but they were in red, green, and blue.

She'd never seen that before.

He shifted as she stared at him in shock, cocking one hip, bringing attention to the black and dark blue kilt he wore. A kilt, a fucking kilt, she thought stupidly, still openly gawking at him. The wind died down, making her notice his hair, since it was down free around him, and how it continued to shift. It was a deep sea green, fading to a dark sapphire like endless ocean near the bottom, and it continued to ripple around him like the very water he stood in.

"You are almost there, but to actually complete it you need help you know.... but you were doing very well..."

She snapped back to herself so hard she swore she had whiplash, teeth clicking as she closed her jaw, and finally sputtered out a reply.

"Wh-what? B-but I was ... was just... making music..."

She trailed off weakly, tired of stammering, watching as he chuckled a little.

"You were, but you were copying that of my creation, the one I heard _you_ found."

She flinched, mind whirling furiously, but she couldn't come up with anything helpful. Damnit!

"I... I did. But I wasn't copying it... it sounds.. .it wasn't right. I was just... curious..."

He picked up one foot as he splayed his palms out, open, as if trying to proclaim himself friendly. When he sat down his foot the water swirled under his sole, and he stepped up onto it, then proceeded to start over to her. She couldn't say walk, oh no, because that was not this. This was something else, the prowl of the predators at night, hips rolling, a swagger full of confidence, and arrogance. Something that bespoke a knowledge of ones own power. Like Aedh.

It made her heart hammer in her chest as she scrambled to stand up, to try to meet him on even ground, hands still cupping the ball of softly playing music.

"Of course you were curious..... Who would not be? But I am impressed that you did so much on your own, even with your heritage...."

She moved backwards slightly, wide eyed as he stepped off the surface of the swirling water and onto the sand in front of her, still with that oh so charming, harmless, good ol' boy smirk on. She couldn't help the flush she felt crawling up her neck.

"Well th-thank you.... but uhm- what d'you mean my-"

"Would you like me to show you how?"

She froze, staring at him as her heart thumped painfully, and she glanced involuntarily down at the swirling colors.

"I.... I uhm....."

She swallowed as his hands came up to settle under hers, warm and strong, almost dwarfing hers, and looked up at metallic eyes that were intent on her.

"So far you have gotten all the opposites..."

She glanced at the music with surprise and noted he was right. She hadn't meant to, but had she still done it on purpose?

"I didn't... realize..."

His lips curved slightly, and he murmured the elements as he picked each colors strand out with his gaze.

" _Lucis.... Umbram... Aer...._ "

She watched each one as he named them, wondering why they didn't really react, but as she thought the words following his they seemed to hum just slightly.

_Shadow... Light... Air..._

Then he smiled a little. " _Terrae..._ "

The green ribbon flickered, growing a little brighter, and she almost flinched as the music under it changed somewhat. The green runes on his arms were glowing slightly, and she wondered why in the hell they were. Then she thought, _Earth_ , and it flickered, returning to normal, but again he didn't notice the difference.

"You need two more now... here. Allow me."

She snapped her jaw shut as she whipped her gaze up to him, watching as he stepped back and held up both hands again. The other runes lit up, the red and blue glittering down the muscles in his arms as he smirked at her. From the water instantly flowed up a serpentine loop of music, curling around his hand without effort.

 

Then he rotated his other hand, snapping his fingers, and the red on his arm flared brighter. Just a heartbeat later a spark ignited, and a ribbon of fiery red music lit into existence in a figure eight pattern, humming with its own sound above his palm.

She had to force herself not to frown at him. Why hadn't he pulled fire from the cauldron? Was he just trying to impress her? And what was with the runes on his arms reacting to-

She gasped as it clicked, and he misinterpreted it to be awe, making him practically simper at her.

The artifacts! The two that weren't _his_ to wield didn't answer him quite right, but the water, which was his, he could control. He'd still gotten the fore too though....

Was that what the runes stood for?! She had to ask Iridius-

 

"Come now, do not be shy little musa... try to weave them together."

She snapped back to herself and looked up, seeing the amusement and the challenge in his eyes. Despite her better judgement, she bristled.

His teeth were sharp, glinting almost coldly in the sunlight when he saw he'd obviously succeeded. She reached for the glow of fire, beckoning it with a bend of her fingers as she left the music floating above her other hand. It instantly flowed over to her, dancing through the air, but kind of strained. She could feel the difference as she began to weave it into the rest, because it didn't fight her. Apparently him having control of it was enough to help, to keep her more steady.

And it suddenly made sense.

  
_To sync the elements, there had to be someone for each one, controlling the massive power of the elements and funneling it into the one who could make them all sing in harmony._   
_But you couldn't do both things._   


She'd been half assed practicing without realizing it, because she was only using a tiny loop of music, not the full power of the element.

The fire merged with the rest and the music changed, accommodating it, and since she had control of it he let go. Instantly the strained warble faded out, as did the red glow on his arms.

"This isn't how it actually works, is it...?"

His eyebrows raised, something flickering in his gaze like surprise.

"Not quite. It must be a steady stream of power straight from the elements. The artifacts act as channels to keep the wild magic from frying the ones chosen to wield

them, but those chosen must still be very powerful... I can show you."

She stared at him a moment then let the music slip from her fingers, earning her a cheeky grin from him as she nodded.

"I want to see."

He inclined his head, and those eyes went serious as he dropped all the strands of power he'd had. Then he held his arms out at his sides, closed his eyes, and murmured something. Power seemed to coalesce around him, growing in a surge that left her gasping for a breath in the heavy atmosphere as the very air groaned with it. Then with a flash of light and a pop, he lowered his hands, eyes fluttering open, and she stared in stunned silence at the things in his hands.

One was a silver metal, made of two parallel circles with runes carved between them, and in the middle was a triangle, tip pointed down. Across the metal a thousand shades of blue wavered, rolling in waves and flickering with soft light. His fingers curled around it carefully, reverently, and she understood.

It was the artifact of water, the ancient thing that held so much power she could feel it trickling across her skin, following the scent of rain heavy in the air.

The other, as she switched her gaze to it, was a burnished copper, glimmering brightly. Reds, oranges, and yellows sparkled across the metal, looking like fire truly

spread within the metal. This one was the same, save that this triangle was pointed up, and he held it slightly tighter. As if it were harder to hold.

She would bet it was, since he hadn't exactly been chosen to wield the artifact of fire. But she wasn't going there right now, even if the flames licking across her arms and the scent of bonfires was so familiar.

"I thought you had the earth artifact too..."

He chuckled softly, nodding once.

"I do... but you have never felt their power, and despite being the opposites, these two would be easier to mix on your first try..."

".....makes sense. If I can do this, would you show me the earth one too?"

She looked up to meet his heavy lidded gaze, lowering her voice to a soft murmur like his. He seemed to be thinking before he finally nodded.

"Yes."

"Alright, then do your thing and I'll do mine."

His grin sharpened, and she took an involuntary step back as the power began to inch up again around them. The water behind him began to churn, and beside his foot a small circle of grass begin to smolder. She watched raptly, amazed despite her trepidation. Fire bloomed into existence, and it glowed from the artifact in response. They both lifted from his hands, hovering over his palms as red and blue light shone out from the triangles. 

She went very still as the whispers she always heard began to edge back into her hearing, but she couldn't get a straight message from them this time.

She jumped as the fire and water made a sudden swirling tunnel, both directing towards their artifacts and passing through, then stopping, waiting. She jerked as she realized it was waiting on her, and after a deep breath to steady her nerves she held up her hands. Instead of what she had done before, she began to move with the soft voices, arms bending, weaving through the air as she directed both streams of power. She did a slow turn to loop them around her, then brought them together back between her and him, twisting her arms as she focused on the lines of energy. It only took her a moment with her heart pounding, eyes wide open but unfocused, only seeing the power flashing around her, blood singing with the music as knowledge she didn't know she'd had told her exactly what to do. She barely realized it when the two merged together, twining into one strand in perfect harmony, and where she stopped her hands, the beam paused, waiting, humming.

"You really did it..."

His amazed voice jerked her back and she shook her head, gasping when they sizzled and separated. She nearly yelped in alarm, but they were slowly retracting, and she realized it was him, pulling away, and with a snap of his fingers both artifacts were gone. 

Around them the forest returned to normal and it was as if nothing had ever happened. Just that fast.

Except her heart was thundering with exhilaration as she panted, face flushed as if she'd ran a mile, and she was starting to smile so wide her face hurt. He chuckled and nodded, moving forward, reaching up to cup her cheeks with warm hands that still tingled with traces of power. She closed her eyes and nearly purred, humming softly instead as he pulled her forward to meet him. Out of reflex she brought up her hands to rest on his stomach, raising her lashes to see what he was doing, surprised to find him inches away, half lidded eyes blazing with triumph. Her hands twitched, and she realized they were against bare skin that was cool to the touch. Something in her chest thumped painfully when he started to talk, a low rumble of sound that purred over her nerves and caught her attention, holding her prisoner like the sinuous charm of the snake, tempting from the darkness with a heated, metallic gaze that ensnared her.

"You are far, far more useful to me alive young one... join me, help me, you can rule by my side... leave my petty nephew who does nothing but lie to you."

"L-lie? Tristan doesn't-"

"Ah but he does.... well, perhaps he simply does not tell you things, mayhap he simply avoids the things he does not wish you to know... such as where the real crown of the High King is, why fearie seems to be falling apart..."

She felt her spine straightening slightly, and she started to frown, wanting to shake her head and pull away.

"If Tristan hasn't told me something its because he thought I didn't care or need to know or something-"

"Of course of course, he would always have your best interests at heart, correct? Perhaps that is why he seeks to keep you sheltered so... maybe that is why my little brother does the same.."

"Wh-what?"

"He does not wish to show you the true nature of his, lurking in the dark, even he hides from it best he can... until his temper gets away from him.. have you not noticed the fear with which his people step lightly around him? Why do you think my dear nephew, and even that pathetic scholar, have never come out and told him of their knowledge that I survived the attack?"

Her eyes snapped so wide as realization hit that she almost felt them pop, and he chuckled, stroking his thumbs over her cheeks and nodding.

"I see you had already suspected something like that... see, you are smarter than they think you are. But _I_ can see it... _I_ can see your power, your potential, and after truly seeing you, I can see your beauty..."

She flushed, nails curling as she started to push him away, freezing when he leaned closer instead.

"I will give you an offer... you could join me, help me claim the crowns and unite fearie under one ruler. One who only wants his people to be happy, prosperous, together, not set in almost constant civil war between two courts, or set on a rule of one who refuses to see when he has outlived his usefulness. With you at my side, the entire land would rejoice under our rule..."

She swallowed past the lump in her throat, squeezing her eyes shut to block out his words, nearly shrieking in surprise when she felt his lips brush across hers and then his hands drop away as her heart leapt out of her chest.

"I ask only that you think of it.... in the meantime, I made a promise, so before I go, here..."

She snapped open her eyes as his touch fell away, the heat moving back. The air grew heavy, and when she focused, inches from her face was a glint of metal, a heavy dark gold, glimmering with so many colors. It was like it shifted, from the dappled green of spring leaves with bursts of pale color like flower buds, to the dark green of summer, heavy with ripe fruit, rich colors across the leaves, then the fading to vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows of fall, before slipping away to bare branches creaking in the winds of winter. Then it began again.

She blinked in shock and stared at the runes, feeling them whispering across her senses like she could just almost hear them, tentatively reaching her hands up. She paused just shy of touching it, glancing at him, seeing him nod, and pressing her fingertips to the triangle with the tip pointed down, an extra bar near the widest point at the top. Instantly she felt it glide over her skin in a hair raising rush of power, the pounding of drums making her heart follow the rhythm, and the scent of deep, dark earth. 

" _Auroraaa!_ "

She jerked with a gasp of surprise at her name being called, and with a pop the artifact was gone. His face fell into harsh lines and he stared at her a moment, before he bowed and took a step back.

"That will be your guards looking for you. I need to return. Remember, think of my offer... join me. Or stay with them, and your blood can stain the ground all the same."

She was gaping at him as she started to shake, watching as he turned and began striding off with long steps, back upon the water, nearing the cauldron and she gasped.

"Llyr!"

He stopped, looking back at her over his shoulder, and he seemed to soften, his smile warm as he looked almost triumphant.

"I will return after the midsummer festival. But you need time to find your answers. Here, if you wish to find me before then in a few days time, use this. Goodbye, Aurora."

He reached into a pocket she hadn't noticed, tossing her something with a flick of his wrist. Then he strode on, right through the cauldron which wavered as if it were made of fog, and off into the forest. She scrambled to catch the thing, bouncing it between her hands with a frown at the glimmer of silver, the marking of water on one side and the strange runes on the other. She shook her head and jerked as her name was called again, then dropped the half dollar sized coin in her pocket and answered, moving forward with a determined stride.

" _I'm at the waterfall Stratos!!_ "

She knew his voice already, how many times had that poor man had to come looking for her in the woods? She would have laughed, but she was wading out into the water, listening to the whispers that had started up again urging her forward. She gave up on holding her dress up, pushing out to stand right beside the cauldron and glare down at it distrustingly.

"What exactly is your deal?"

The fires inside were once again the myriad colors of the rainbow, humming softly as they flickered around the center white one and she sighed.

She heard him before she saw him, turning to face the music as Stratos burst through the brush and paused, wide eyed as he focused on her. He let out a relieved breath and with a flick of his wrist as he began forward again he sent a small bolt of lightening zinging up to the clouds, illuminating them with a few flashes.

"What no smoke signals?"

He blinked at her and she sighed, waving a hand as she rolled her eyes.

"Never mind. Look, can you see this motherfucker right here?"

She pointed right at the cauldron as he stopped at the edge of the river, eyeing her curiously, and warily, as if he feared for her sanity. Wise, since he was still a few feet away.

"Ah... what exactly am I suppose to be seeing?"

Her eye twitched and she slammed her hands on her hips, snarling at the cauldron.

"I knew it! You're some other crazy ass magic thing that wants to come home with me aren't you?!"

Stratos glanced around as if looking for help or answers, raising both hands placatingly towards the crazy woman standing in the middle of the river. But she could see it, and the flames hummed higher, flickering brightly. She glared at it another moment before reaching forward and grabbing the handle. As soon as she touched it, something fluttered over her skin, and Stratos paled, eyes going too wide as his jaw dropped.

"W-what - how did - is that-"

She whirled and started over to him, wrapping both arms around the warm, but of course not hot that would be too normal, cauldron and holding it tightly to her chest.

"I don't know. I don't care. I'm g-getting real fed up with this c-crazy shit, and right now-"

She stopped in front of him as she tromped out of the water, looking up as he blinked down at her in shock, water continuing to run off in rivulets. 

"I w-wanna go back to the s-sithen and sit down down a-a-and-"

Her ragged breath stopped in her throat, shrill voice dying away as the burning in her eyes caught up with her and she started to shake. His stormy eyes darkened with concern as the tears started to fall, and he slid his arms around her, pulling her close, voice rumbling like the distant peal of thunder. It was strangely comforting as she buried her face against his collar in his black tunic, catching the windy scent of storms and rain, hiccupping as everything seemed to catch up with her all at once.

"Come now, let us return, all is well..."

She nodded, sniffling as he turned them and started them back at a slow pace, holding her tightly to his side as they walked. 

_Why couldn't she have a fucking normal or boring day?! Why was everything crazy or a death threat or the end of the world?!_

 

 

She'd nudged Stratos to take her to the solar room son as they returned, avoiding others easily enough. He'd spoke one command to Wraith and taken her there without complaint. She sat the cauldron down on the table beside her, and curled up on the couch with Stratos sitting on the arm beside her, one hand rubbing her back to soothe her as they waited.

She glanced up at the bang of the door, seeing a brief flash of Tristan as he came in, eyes wide and hair flying, and had enough time to wonder how many times would she do something that earned this reaction from him before she gave the poor man a heart attack? She held in the hysterical laughter as he practically threw himself down beside her and pulled her almost into his lap, running his hands over her hair and demanding to know what happened from his captain. 

"I - I do not know! She seemed fine and then pulled that out of the air over the river and just.... I do not know your highness..."

He sounded so dejected and worried that she finally sat up, looking around to see Iridius and Wraith had followed them in, as well as both phoenixes which eyed her worriedly. Stratos looked freaked out and helpless, and as she looked up at Tristan he gave her a warm, concerned look, reaching up to brush away a stray tear.

"What has happened flower? What upset you so?"

"Just a -"

"What has happen-"

Boreas's alarmed voice cut off mid sentence as he burst into the room much like Tristan had moments ago. He practically deflated with instant relief upon seeing all of them fine, then strode over as his face settled into serious lines upon seeing the leftover tear tracks on hers. He stopped in front of her and swung that metallic gaze to Tristan, and she actually halfway smiled as his voice came out like the wind whipping through trees in a storm.

" _Who has caused this?!_ "

"I do not-"

"Everyone please sit down, and I'll explain."

They all looked at her, then nodded, and Sine, who had followed him in having apparently been sent to fetch him, moved to push up a chair for the UnSeelie king but he shook his head. She squeaked as strong hands took hold of her and lifted her, sending one look at Tristan who scrambled to move to the far end of the little sofa, and then he gently set her down in the middle, perching on her far side so she was sandwiched between them. 

She sighed and sent him a small thankful smile, despite her mood, because their combined warmth was making the shaking in her bones recede slowly but surely. Boreas's eyes gentled as she moved her free hand that wasn't twisted in one of Tristan's to take one of his, and he wrapped both around hers, turning slightly to face her more. She turned then to look at Iridius, who looked slightly surprised at the attention.

"Iridius I need you and the others to make one of those protective bubble things."

"Wh-what? My lady-"

"They're sound proof to anyone outside them, right?"

"Well y-yes-"

"And y'all can make one with all of us inside?"

Iridius seemed to catch on, shoulders dropping as he realized he wasn't going to win whatever this was about.

"Yes my lady. Wraith, Stratos, Sine..."

Without anything further they all moved around to do so, and she knew as she looked down at her feet, avoiding the curious and worried glances they were all sending her, that they were about to freak out.

Big time.

She felt the silence as the world beyond them was shut out with a fission of power, and she set her gaze on everyone to make sure everyone was here, inside, and paying attention. Tristan, Boreas, Stratos, Wraith, Iridius, Sine, Zaltheim, and Dainia. 

Okay, she told herself, just say it.

Her hand tightened around Boreas's involuntarily, and she swept her gaze up to Tristan's, then to his as he cupped his hands around hers and chafed hers as if offering silent support.

" _I met Llyr today._ "

Everyone inside the circle froze. Tristan stiffened beside her, and she watched Boreas's face pale and tighten, eyes frantically searching hers to see if she was joking.

So without any other prompting, she continued.

"He looks like you, but he has a scar through one eye, and the third color of his eyes are different, blue where yours are copper. His hair moves like water, a lighter sea green that fades to a dark blue that's almost black near the ends."

Boreas swallowed, and she alone felt the tremor that ran through his frame while she watched the thousands of emotions swirling in his gaze.

"He does have all three artifacts, because I saw them earth, fire, and water."

She turned to Iridius, glancing at the others stunned faces as well. 

"They don't answer him exactly right, but he can call them. I was.... sitting at the river, playing with loops of music while trying to figure out what had been wrong with that wand from the other night-"

Tristan made a pained noise and she glanced at him, almost sheepish.

"I know, but I couldn't leave it alone. I had this feeling I could fix it.... he showed up and surprised me, explained it had been his, a try to make a thing that will sync the elements so he could do the entire ritual himself once he gets all the artifacts."

The guards gazes all went alarmed, and she sighed.

"But... I was doing it, on a smaller scale. He was impressed, and called the artifacts to actually see if I could really harmonize them-"

Tristan and Boreas's hands clutched around hers reflexively, and she forced herself not to flinch.

"-and I did it, easily really..."

"Y-you... harmonized two of the elements?" Iridius's voice was shocked and awed at the same time.

"Fire and water. The full power of them running through the artifacts... they're beautiful by the way.. which reminds me, he has green, blue, and red runes down his arms, like your blue ones Tristan. Is that somehow related to the artifacts?"

Tristan looked taken aback, looking down at his arms in surprise, then back to her incredulously.

"What are you talking about flower? What runes?"

She frowned at him, looking down directly at them, then over to Iridius, who shook his head.

"I do not see them.... have you seen anyone else with them?"

She paused, thinking, and chewed her lip. "I... think i have but I can't really remember who it was... damn. But they do look like the ones on the water artifact. And when he called any of them, they started glowing brighter."

Iridius nodded, reaching up to run a hand across his face and sigh.

"Surely they are tied together. But we can figure out about that another time. What else happened?"

"Did he hurt you?" Tristan sounded worried as he leaned forward and grabbed her in, eyes frantic as he looked over her again as if he'd have missed something. Boreas's voice had her snapping her head around, wide eyed, to stare. His hair was floating slightly, eyes sparking as he snarled.

" _I will kill him for sure this time-_ "

"No no no no! He ah... well... he did say he'd meant to kill me _BUT BUT but - but_ , he said I was more useful. He ah...."

Her cheeks flushed red and she looked down, away from the gazes of the others as she muttered.

"He kind of said... he wanted me to be his super villain queen or whatever before he just kinda kissed me and-"

" ** _HE WHAT?!_** "

She wasn't sure how many bellows there were in tandem, but she knew as she slapped her hands over her ears that at least one had come from Tristan, and one from Boreas. She glanced up hesitantly at Tristan whose face was flushed and almost squeaked as his eyes narrowed to thunderous slits.

"What did you- "

"I was scared to do too damn much other than be shocked to fuck because what the hell and he's fucking crazy! He went on this long spiel about joining him and we could unite the land for peace and all this bullshit, kind of like some Hitler meets the Hunger Games bull like I would just buy it and spouts off how everyone is lying to me but him!"

Tristan's head snapped back as he stared at her, but she was on a roll, pointing at each of the three as she rolled off what he'd said without a second thought.

"He said you and Iridius basically lied because you both knew about him and what the fuck ever and that /you/ were too ashamed to tell anyone why your court was actually afraid of y-you - .... u-uhm.... "

She trailed off, wide eyed and horrified at herself as Boreas stared at her. She swallowed past the lump in her that as the silence stretched taut like a rope about to snap, and then he pushed slowly to his feet. His face was set in cold, harsh lines, terrifyingly calm as he turned on his heel to stare over her head at Tristan who bolted up from the couch to stand, holding out his hands placatingly.

"N-now uncle I can explain, Mother forbade us from telling! She went so far. To threaten Iridius's life and made us both swear oaths to our high queen that we would not tell-"

"You both knew..... all these years, and ......you ....both ..."

He was shaking, his robes trembling around him as his hair lifted and swirled. She could hear his music clattering like an angry hurricane, voice thunderous as his eyes flashed. His lip curled, the first crack in his composure, and he lifted his hand, curling it into a fist.

The others shifted, unsure of what to do, knowing they had to protect their prince but he was King as well. His breath hissed out, and before the others could move or draw weapons to escalate it she was on her feet between them, pressing her hands flat against the Kings chest. Power rolled down her skin, biting and stinging, his heart thumping hard under her hands, skin hot as his temper peaked impossibly high. Damn she was a fool!

"Boreas....."

Tristan must have shifted behind her, because Boreas's gaze moved slightly, narrowed on the figure behind her as his nose wrinkled with a snarl. The movement stopped, and she shook her head, sighing softly, letting her touch be light but insistent, lowering her voice.

" _Boreas... look at me please..._ "

He tilted his head to look down at her through eyes that had gone solidly silver, glowing out of his face with the control he was exerting. She kept her voice gentle, coaxing, as if talking down a cornered, wild animal. She rather was, but the thing about it, despite Llyr's words, she wasn't afraid of him. Seeing his eyes like that, she felt a flush creeping up her cheeks.

_Why did she have to notice that now? Good fucking grief._

When he moved, she didn't see it until it was too late.

It was barely a blink of her eye and he was in her face, one hand wrapped around her throat, hand tightening just enough to display the threat as he flat out growled. His normally jovial face was transformed into something different, something else, animalistic as he looked at her almost without seeing her, bowing her backwards with the force of his hold and his gaze.

"How dare you step between me and them? I have every reason to be utterly furious with them, I am well within my rights to demand reparations for their acts against me, to call for a duel to settle this pathetic-!!"

"Uncle please leave her out of-"

"You will shut your mouth or I will do it for you _nephew_."

When he rolled those silver eyes up to Tristan, he fell silent, and she could almost taste the fear. Did they really think he would hurt her? Why?

He was absolutely furious, yes, but that didn't mean-

Stratos dropped to one knee, head bowed, fist over his chest in salute as he spoke.

"Your highness please take your displeasure out on me, and allow the Prince's consort to-"

"Will you both _shut the fuck up?!_ "

She snapped out, fingers wrapped tightly in the collar of the Kings shirt, making them all whip around to stare at her. Even Boreas's face portrayed his shock as he brought those eyes back to her.

"Holy fucking hell you act like he's going to fucking actually strangle me! Will you let me handle this?! Its Boreas for fucks sake! I - .... you know what?"

She looked up at Boreas, whose face had smoothed out to a neutral expression, and she sniffed at him.

"Make us a little personal bubble right here so we can talk and they can chill the fuck out."

There were several instant barks of protest but she snapped a narrowed glare at them, and almost instantly a sparkling field of black shimmered across her vision.

She gasped, looking around wildly to see Tristan stumble back, away, and Stratos shoot to his feet to catch him. The bubble hit the ground and snapped into existence, and suddenly all she could sense was Boreas's massive power bubbling under his skin. The scent surrounding her was chilly, bringing hints of smoke and ash, and something cold slid across her senses, almost soothing the stinging from the magic that pressed so heavily against her skin. She let out half a sigh of relief that choked off as he spun them, dropping her onto the sofa, hand clenching around her throat for a moment, fingers surely pressing bruises as he hissed in fury.

He fit one knee beside her hip and dropped down to glare at her, head tilted slightly, that snarl still curving his lips, eyes flashing.

" _You think you can order me around?! That my fully righteous anger is_ silly _?! What makes you think I will not end your life?_ "

He leaned closer, breath ghosting across her cheeks as his voice dropped, rumbling out of his chest with a slow precision, teeth clicking together.

" _What makes you think you are safe, when all of our laws would put me perfectly in the right by slaughtering you right here?_ "

"N-no I wasn't t-trying to order y-you, and its not silly! Y-you have every right to be m-mad and you know it! A-as far as that goes I - I'm not sc-scared of you hurting me Boreas! You wouldn't, I know that, I just w-wanted to talk to y-you without them all m-making things worse..."

He stared at her a moment, leaning even closer, the couch creaking under his weight as he nearly settled in her lap, hand splaying across her collar and throat, curling around and slipping partway into her hair, causing a shudder to run down her spine. His voice was barely a whisper and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. _Stop it stop it stop it-_

" _If that is true, why do you seem so terrified?_ "

"I-I what?!"

"Your heart is thundering, your face is flushed, but pale, your breathing erratic.. you cannot tell me you are not afraid of me."

She swallowed, cracking open her eyes to see him, and within the flickering depths she could see the hurt in his gaze, and she knew she couldn't let him think that, no matter the other outcome being... embarrassing.

"B-Boreas... its not... m'not... uhm... holy fuck ah-"

She squirmed under his piercing gaze, face flaming as she looked down, refocusing on his throat and her hands clenched in the silk of his shirt at his sides.

"You are trembling... see, you _are_ terrified."

His soft murmur stirred her hair, making her almost shudder again, but she bit her bottom lip until it nearly bled.

" _M'not scared damnit!!_ "

He went perfectly still at her yelp, and she squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look.

"S'not the problem!!"

There was several moments of thick silence, and it was like a lightbulb had clicked on. His hand loosened for a moment, and she sucked in a grateful breath, right before he slammed her back against the couch, her head thumping against the cushion, eyes snapping open to meet pure silver as she choked in surprise.

"Wh-?!"

"You want me to believe that you are not scared, that this, with me like this, is not terrifying to you? That you do not want to run screaming but..."

Her pulse thundered under the pressure of his hand, looking up, utterly still as he stared down at her, dropping his voice as he inched slowly closer.

" _That you would... let me..._ "

He leaned farther, lips brushing over her cheek, pressing his lips against the outside of her ear as his hand curled tighter.

" _..make you...scream for me?_ "

Just as she opened her mouth, as everything seemed to snap she felt his lips curve into a smile, widening as a suspicious sound came from him and instant simmering anger burned through her so fast her head spun. She shoved him as hard as she could, catching him by surprise as he toppled backwards and flailed, landing in a graceless heap on the ground, scrunched awkwardly against the barrier of his bubble. She shot to her feet, face flaming and snarling, raising a foot and swinging it out to kick the bubble. He dropped it as she connected and her foot hit then gave and sailed through, right above his head as he collapsed back onto the floor, roaring with laughter and holding his sides. The others stared in wide eyed shock, all pale, horrified, and she stomped over him, fists clenched as she headed for the door while she snarled.

"You're a goddamned bastard Boreas - yeah y'all can fucking talk to him that bastard knew the entire time and was fucking putting on that sonofabitch - yeah you lay there and laugh motherfucker go right the fuck on I swear to fucking god - "

She trailed off with a screech as they dropped the outer bubble so she could pass and storm out, slamming the door behind her with a thunderous sound. They all turned back to the king who lay on his back, tears streaming from his eyes that he wiped away as he looked at the closed door still holding his sides.

"What did you do Uncle?"

Tristan sounded awed, but Boreas continued to chuckle, shaking his head.

"I do not know what most of that means, but I think it was very bad."

"Yeah, it was."

They all glanced at Wraith who shrugged sheepishly. "I have picked up some of the meanings... of a sort."

"Right... so, you knew? Truly? And you are not....?"

Tristan looked down at his uncle hesitantly, and after a moment, Boreas reached up for help. Tristan grabbed his hand and hauled him up, watching silently as the king dusted himself off.

"I knew. There is not much that gets by me, especially secrets my /dearest sister/ is the keeper of. There is far too much gossip in our lands. I am not happy, but I am not mad at either of you, you had no choice in the matter. Tristan you were but a youngling.. we shall come up with something to do, some plan. I /am/ mad at my sister though..."

Stratos snickered, and they glanced at him as he grinned cheekily at the king.

"I think you had better come up with a way to pacify the princess before she takes your head off, your highness."

Boreas dropped his head and sighed ruefully. "Yes, she did not find my joke as funny as I thought she would... I shall apologize shortly.... and profusely."

Sine snorted, and Wraith shook his head while Stratos continued to laugh and Tristan just gave a long suffering sigh.

"It had best be soon uncle, you do not have to share quarters with her."

 

\---

 

Belle stepped into the bathroom, eyes wide and grin terribly excited as she covered her mouth with her hand and cleared her throat. Aurora raised a curious brow, wondering what she was doing as her lips started twitching, and she sat down her hair brush.

"What's the matter Belle?"

The maid composed herself and bowed, voice trembling with mirth as she answered.

"H-his highness the King of the UnSeelie court wishes a moment of your time my lady."

Aurora rolled her eyes and snickered, shaking her head as she ran her fingers through her still damp hair.

"Of course he does. Where is he?"

"I showed him to the chaise in your quarters my lady."

"Pfft. Okay, that'll be all then Belle, I'll handle it in just a moment. You can tell him I'll be there in a minute and head out.... wait, is it just him?"

"Yes my lady."

"Thanks Belle."

Her cat like eyes were flickering with amusement when she inclined her head again, as if knowing what the other woman was thinking before she turned away, composing her face again before walking out. 

As the maid closed the door behind her, Aurora turned to look at herself in the mirror, freshly scrubbed from the shower, and lifted an eyebrow at her reflection.

Was she really going to drop to the level of getting revenge? 

"......pffft, yeah."

She snickered to herself as she walked over to her closet door.

 

 

When he heard the door click open, Boreas sat up straight, tugging at the collar of his tunic as if it were too tight, already starting to talk.

"I came to ask you if you are truly mad... at me.... for my.. ah..."

He trailed off as he looked up, words failing as his metallic eyes went wide. She tilted her head slightly, hips swaying as she started over, eyebrows raising in calm curiosity as he stared.

"For your joke?"

He cleared his throat and nodded, eyes sweeping over her lazily. 

" _Yes... for that.._ "

She hummed softly in acknowledgement, stopping a few feet away in front of him. 

" _What exactly_.... is this you are wearing?"

She looked down at if just remembering, touching the edges of the robe with light fingers. It was black, but sheer enough it was completely see through. He wasn't looking at the robe though, that was a regular thing in the courts if she was truthful; he was looking at what was underneath. She'd finally, with Belle's help and insistence, went to Marcellus to have him make her some things like she'd wanted to wear under the dresses and things he'd made already. Mostly soft, different colored lacy underthings.

She was currently sporting a matching set of underwear, bra, and thigh highs, which had been particularly trying to explain to Marcellus but worth it in the long run, all of black lace, edged with little silver details.

"I'm more comfortable in some familiar things, so I had Marcellus make these. They're ... well, to wear under most things."

He leaned forward, drawing his lower lip between his teeth and nodding as he continued to stare. Now she was doing everything possible not to blush, almost fidgeting under his regard as his eyes heated. Shit.

"Why would one hide such beauty under more clothes?"

She actually let out a laugh at the low murmur, reaching up to cover her mouth and shake her head.

"I don't know... a surprise? Or a secret? ....temptation maybe?"

He pushed to his feet and started forward with a slow walk, finally raising that metallic gaze to her that had started to flicker slightly. Her heart skipped a beat as she mentally cursed herself, doing her best not to let it show on her face.

" _It is.. certainly tempting..._ "

He reached for her as he stopped just in front of her, sliding his palms between the lapels of her robe to flatten against her stomach, gliding over her hips and down to drag his fingertips over the material. His eyes flashed as she shuddered, feeling the flush racing up her neck to her face.

"B-Boreas-"

She cut off with a gasp as his hands tightened, yanked her forward against him, and he buried his face in her hair near her temple, leaning down slowly to breath across her ear again.   
_I've made a mistake damnit oh shit what do I-_

" _What is the matter? Is your plan for revenge not quite working?_ "

She went still as his lips curled and she flushed scarlet, shoving him back as he started to chuckle. She crossed her arms with a huff, glaring at him as he held up both hands as if to pacify her.

"You are insufferable!"

"I am wounded..."

He laid both hands over his heart, putting on his best puppy eyes and letting his lip tremble. She'd already been fighting not to, and she snorted before she could contain the laughter.

"What, did you learn that from Stratos?"

He was suddenly in front of her again, scoffing.

"Tch, who do you think taught that rogue everything he knows?"

She raised her eyebrow incredulously, glancing at him from the corner of her eye but refusing to look.

"I suppose I could believe that."

He gave a soft laugh, and for a moment they fell into silence, her shoulders dropping as she quit even pretending to be mad at him anymore. She jumped when she felt a touch, turning at his urging when he took her chin between two fingers and tugged to get her to face him. His beautiful face was serious, eyes focused on hers as he looked down into her wide ones.

"I did come to apologize if I truly offended you, I did not mean to...."

She opened her mouth to tell him he hadn't, but he moved his thumb up to her lip, pressing slightly, and she fell silent, waiting. His eyes flickered and the corner of his lips lifted momentarily before it faded again.

"I had heard the rumors, but I had not known for sure.. I suppose I did not want to think my sister capable of such a thing... so the anger was real at first when you admitted it. So many things fell into place... so much makes sense. Then what my brother said about my fears... it was true. When you looked at me and I thought you feared me... I could not stand it."

Since he apparently wanted her to just listen, she raised one hand to lay on his chest above his heart, and he reached his free hand up to cover hers with it.

"When I realized that was not the problem... I suppose I was so... relieved and happy that I may have went a little overboard.."

She wrinkled her nose, and he chuckled.

"Okay fine, I suppose it was funny... and worth it...."

She blushed and he laughed again, eyes warming up as he started to grin cheekily.

"So .... are you going to continue this game of one upmanship to see who is the bigger rogue?"

Her eyes snapped pure fire at him.

"Oh that's it you're so on you overbearing, pompous-"

He swooped forward and paused a hairsbreadth from touching his lips to hers, raising his lashes to meet her too wide eyes as she stared at him in shock. He gave it just a second then leaned forward and lightly brushed a kiss on her.

" _Then 'it is on' little princess._ "

Her face flushed red with temper and he jumped backwards before she could grab him, racing to the door and throwing it open, bolting through while she screeched at him. By the time she was at the doorway, hair and robe flying around her as she shook a fist at him, grinning from across the next bedroom at her.

" _Damn you_ Boreas I'll-"

" _A-Aurora??_ "

She whipped her head to the side to see Tristan, Stratos, Wraith, and Sine standing to one side. Tristan was blushing lightly, openly gaping at her, while Sine and Wraith were both covering their mouths trying not to laugh, and Stratos looked entirely too pleased, grinning openly at her. She squeaked and slammed the door shut as the guards began to roar with laughter.

"Goddamnit Boreas!!!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *fans* Is it hot in here? I think it's hot in here.  
> I'm so sorry. I'm absolutely terrible.  
> Was there a point to this story somewhere? I think there was but I forgot it somewhere....  
> Whew look at that my face is burning thats it I'm gonna go put my head in the freezer. See y'all soon for another update!!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo look the next one already I'm on a roll yay me!

Once she had yanked on some more clothes, over the ones she'd already had minus the robe of course, she finally wet back to Tristan's room, figuring the guys were waiting on her there.

Sure enough, they were.

As she stepped inside, Tristan turned, sea blue eyes scanning over her once before his cheeks darkened slightly and he gave her a relieved smile. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, looking down.

"Yeah uhm, so I think I've started a prank war with the UnSeelie king.... its stupid don't worry about it."

His soft laugh made her jump, looking up to find him much closer than she'd expected. He reached out to brush light fingertips over her cheek, the amused, warm smile on his face making her heart skip a few beats.

"It is alright flower. It was just a surprise, as it was earlier, to see someone so... brazen, with the King. And on that topic, we should discuss what happened earlier a little more..."

She nodded, letting him take her hand and lead her back over to the waiting guards who all wore matching expressions of utter mischief, and she stuck her tongue out at them.

"First of all, we of course must continue our day as if nothing has happened... but this night, we shall all go after dinner to the King's rooms and speak of these.. new developments, and come up with some sort of plan."

She nodded, beaming a happy smile at him as he glanced back at her.

 

 

After everything was said and done, she was pretty damned exhausted.

But she still couldn't sleep. It figured.

She sighed and rolled out of her bed, padding to the bathroom to splash water on her face and pat it dry, almost glaring at her reflection.

She knew why she couldn't sleep, and it was just mostly her worrying over everything from earlier that day. They had all talked for the past several hours about every possible thing, and mostly come up with one conclusion:

She needed to go see Sareindiel.

The others agreed that the dragons input would be more than helpful and she certainly agreed, but they still didn't want her going alone for several reasons. One of which was she seemed to find trouble while on her own and despite herself she had to agree.

It made her lips twitch with a smile as she walked back into her room, crossing over to the window to look outside, leaning against the sill and crossing her arms.

Iridius did in fact think there was some way to try to call the elements' artifacts back, but he'd been afraid to admit it because of Llyr. He knew the Sidhe wouldn't give up without a fight, and he feared a powerful attack on the one trying to reclaim the artifacts, which they all knew now would have to be her.

_But why her?_

She started as she realized she'd actually forgotten to tell them about the off handed comment Llyr had made about her 'heritage'. What the hell had he meant anyway? Maybe it had something to do with the reason the others called her 'daughter' and such?

Well, they were going to visit Sareindiel tomorrow, so she would ask. She didn't know yet who all would get to go with her, if any of them. As much as they wanted to, they all had the same commitments tomorrow they'd had the day before. That meant they couldn't all just drop everything and run off, they needed to continue on like nothing had happed.

If Llyr found out she'd come right back and told them everything.... he might decide to just off her without any further choices. Boreas had seemed confident though, saying he knew his brother well enough to know better. He said if his brother was that interested in her, he wouldn't do it. He also threw out how he would need her, whether he wanted to or not, because she was the one who could harmonize the elements.

She hadn't personally understood why he would even want to do that, but they'd reminded her that he couldn't be the high king if the land fell apart. She would have to admit they were right as usual.

The one thing they weren't right about though, was Aedh. They thought it had been a ruse by Llyr to get the book to her, just to get her interested enough that she would figure out a way to do the ritual. She hadn't argued, but they could tell she didn't believe it.

She knew better damn it. She could tell it wasn't the same person. Boreas, though he spoke like he sided with the others because he was afraid to invest too much into it, had looked at her with carefully shielded hope in his metallic eyes after seeing her determination.

 _Aedh was alive,_ and after her visit with the dragon tomorrow, she was going to see him. By herself.

She would just find a way to sneak out. She could do it.

She turned away from the window and flopped across the bed, burying her face in the soft coverlet and sighing loudly as she kicked her feet.

Damnit it was going to be a long day tomorrow and she couldn't sleep. She was restless, edgy, and couldn't turn her mind off long enough to rest.

Maybe she was also a little lonely....

Finally she stood up and double checked herself, Boreas's fault the rat bastard. Yes, she had indeed changed for bed, just the oversized, sleeveless, dark blue nightgown that was about thigh length that she didn't have to wear anything else with. It was comfy. She shrugged and tossed her hair over her bare shoulder, since the neckline was wide enough to consistently slide off one, and stopped in front of her door uncertainly, shifting on her feet before she squared her shoulders.

Damnit, this world was different, and this was okay. Hell, she knew it was okay, she was just...

She curled her lip at herself as she paced away and back, fuming. It was her over worrying everything, double checking herself, doubting herself and everything, and she was tired of it. Screw that old no self esteem crap she was going to believe in herself.

She almost squealed as the ever present whispers rose in soft response, turning apologetic as she mentally snarled about giving her a heart attack. But they picked up again, whispering encouragement, and she let her shoulders relax.

They'd been right so far, hadn't they?

They started to fade and she quickly barked out a question.

_Wait wait! Am I ever going to figure out what this, or ah... what y'all are? Hell I feel like I'm talking to myself but I know I'm not..._

There were a few moments of silence, and she thought she wouldn't get an answer before there was suddenly a gentle reminder about her visit with Sareindiel tomorrow. About Dainia going on ahead tonight to tell the dragon of her impending visit so that she could meet her at the edge of the 'forbidden woods', and bring her to the cave safely.

_Guess that means ask her. Okay, got it... thanks._

She could always tell when they left, though she didn't always notice when they slid into her awareness, but they faded out quietly and she sighed. Definitely asking about that tomorrow.

She moved back to the door, took a deep breath, and touched the doorknob. She eased open the door to the pitch black depths of the next bedroom, seeing the scant moonlight filtering past her across the carpet. Almost instantly she felt a knot loosening in her chest as the scent that had become familiar as home hit her, and she padded across the floor on silent feet. With her eyes already adjusted, and her knowing the way as well as the back of her hand, she stopped right before she bumped the edge, leaning forward and crawling up on her knees as she tugged back the covers. There was a sleepy murmur as her hand hit warmth, and she burrowed against his wide back as he yawned. There was a moment of silence as he halfway glanced over his shoulder through half lidded eyes, but she was looking down at the bed, ignoring the faint flush in her cheeks. She loosened her hold as he moved around, rolling over and pulling her against his chest without a word.

Like it was the most natural thing in the world. It made her blush a little harder but she wrapped her arms around him in response, burying her face against his throat when he slid a hand into her hair and let a contented purr rumble out of his chest. It made her smile, huffing a laugh against his skin and shifting to get comfortable as the tension she'd had slid away. Surrounded like that by the heat and strength of him, the scent of the ocean and that one unique to him, she was already slipping back into the waiting arms of sleep.

 

Moments later, one of his sea blue eyes slid halfway open again, glimmering in the moonlight as he focused on the doorway. Out of the shadows stepped the familiar figure of his second in command, who inclined his head after saluting with a fist across his chest, then stepped back into a furl of mist. When Wraith had disappeared, Tristan glanced down at the sleeping woman in his arms, letting the ghost of a smile curve his lips. They'd all been worried about her, but she was stronger than any of them knew, he thought. And when she wasn't, they would be there.

He hugged her just a little tighter and shifted the covers up over her shoulder to keep her warm before he closed his eyes.

 

 

She blearily woke up when the warmth around her shifted, barely aware there was only a little golden light seeping into the room to announce the shortcoming of dawn. That meant it was too damned early. She halfheartedly grumbled, trailed off into a yawn as she tightened her arms and hung on, nuzzling up against Tristan when he stilled. He huffed a soft laugh in response, stroking a hand through her hair as his voice rumbled under her ear.

"I am afraid I must go flower, I have duties to attend in fathers place.."

She cracked open one eye as he gently disentangled himself, watching as he sent her a warmly amused smile and padded over to his closet. She tugged the covers back up to her chin and curled up in a ball into the place he'd just vacated, sending him a disgusted look.

"T'suns not even up yet..."

He sent her another chiding look as he pulled out some clothes, laying them across the back of the couch while he shook his head and grinned. Apparently someone was in a damned chipper mood this morning.

"And I thought you seemed like such a good morning person as you say..."

"Its still night time."

She snorted, and heard his soft chuckle as he suddenly just dropped the sleeping pants he wore to the floor in a puddle of cloth and reached for the clothes he'd laid out to wear. She sat straight up, eyes wide as she stared and felt her face flushing, jaw hanging as he stepped into the white tunic and began pulling it up.

"I suppose you could say that... but it will be day soon enough. As much as I do not want to go, I must... oh, are you getting up then?"

He tilted his head as he turned, hands adjusting the silver and dark blue straps across the front. She snapped her jaw shut with a click, blinking wide eyed in silence.

His still had bed head, his long blue hair tousled and kind of everywhere, which was somehow adorable and sexy at the same time. Or maybe it was the fact that he'd just been naked and still mostly was, hands working deftly to fix the straps and things on the front of his tunic, slowly doing up the front which was still gaping open across his chest.

_What had he said?_

"U-uhm yeah m-maybe..."

He sent her a bright smile as if she'd answered right, and she swallowed. He started over, leaving the top little bit of his top undone to show a pale flash of collar.

She watched as he perched by her on the bed, reaching out to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.

"We could eat breakfast together if you wish, I have enough time for that."

She blinked a time or two as her face heated and everything finally clicked.

"Uh, y-yeah! Yeah we can - uhm - I'll ... I'll go get dressed..."

He nodded and moved to stand, pausing when she reached out and forestalled him by grabbing his arm. She hesitated for just a moment before leaning forward as he turned back, pressing a brief kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you Tristan..."

He blinked at her this time at a loss, cheeks darkening slightly as she bolted out of bed and disappeared in her room. After a moment he reached up to touch the spot with light fingers, starting to smile as he stood.

 

 

The other guards had been surprised to see her, but had all grinned brightly as she showed up with her arm looped through Tristan's when they met up in the hallway.

"Where is my uncle?"

Stratos snickered. "He has not showed up, perhaps _he_ is sleeping in today."

Aurora took that as a personal challenge. "No way! Not when *I'm actually up at this godawful hour! I'll wake him up myself!"

 

 

That was how she'd ended up standing outside the King's current rooms in the Sithen one hallway over, talking to the guard who stood at the doorway, arms crossed.

She'd walked up with a bright smile, which he'd tentatively returned.

"Good morning my lady."

"Morning Neit!"

He blinked in surprise, seeming taken aback that she had remembered his name. _Yeah right!_

The guy was Boreas's second in command, and a freaking spartan. Like, certainly one of the widest Sidhe she'd met yet, with more muscle than even Stratos, though he was shorter so maybe that was some of it. He had grey tinted skin, with blood red hair he kept in something resembling dreads, decorated throughout with black and gold cuffs that gave off soft 'tinks' of sound when they knocked together. He'd always had these red marks across his skin too, the color of his hair, almost like tiger stripes but not quite the same, and he was always decked out in the black, gold, and copper of his King's court with a fucking gigantic broadsword strapped across his back that was as big as her he affectionately called _sanguinem bibit_. Blood drinker.

Yeah, he was a god of war, by reputation and the powers that she could sense from him. She certainly wasn't fucking with him. But she liked him, he was nice.

His eyes, which were red, black, and gold, focused on her with curiosity, and she beamed at him.

"Is Boreas up yet?"

His gaze flicked past her to the others, waiting at the far end of the hallway to see if she would succeed or not, then back.

"No my lady.... is there a problem? Should I wake-"

"Oh no no no, don't worry with that everythings fine! He's going to come eat breakfast with us though. Do you mind if I go wake him up?"

His eyebrows shot up, and something flickered through his eyes as his lips twitched before he controlled it and nodded, taking a step forward.

"Ah... go right ahead my lady..."

She sent him another smile, then opened the door and slipped inside, closing it softly behind her. She gave her eyes a moment to adjust, and finally could see with the light sneaking past the curtains. The sun was just starting to rise, sending gold streaking through the room, and she eased out a breath as her eyes caught the sleeping form on the bed. She almost snickered, seeing him sprawled across the big ass bed, limbs everywhere and hair a tangled mess, like a little kid, jaw hanging open as he snored lightly. _Oh god why didn't she have a camera?!_

Then she did what she'd come in here to do. She ran at the bed, footsteps just barely there across the carpet, and leaped onto the bed.

"Booooreeeeeeeas! Getupgetupgetupgetup!! Its time for breakfast come ooooooooooooooooon!!!"

He bounced and flailed, eyes snapping open as he hit the bed again and jerked up onto his elbows, metallic gaze swinging around to hers wild eyed.

" _What in the-_ "

"Coooooooome on lazybones!!!! If I'm awake you should be too get up get up get up come one let's go the guys are waiting on us to go eat breakfast!"

He went crosseyed as she shook him while she chirped away, grinning brightly at him and laughing as he shook his head to clear it and then narrowed his eyes on her.

"B-breakfast?!”

"Yes! Breakfast! Food! Om nom nom!"

He blinked quizzically at her, before amusement lit his eyes and he finally barked a laugh.

"Good grief woman. Alright, alright, only for you would I rise at this ungodly hour..."

She snickered as he rolled his eyes and threw back the covers, pushing to his feet and giving a jaw popping yawn, stretching his arms over his head as he arched his whole body in one long line.

Her jaw dropped as her face flamed and she nearly fell off the bed scrambling to get up. He started to turn, blinking curiously at her as she shot to her feet and fled for the door before he could.

"I'll meet you outside!"

"What-"

She slammed the door and leaned against it, huffing, face red as Neit's hair, who was looking at her wide eyed.

"He's ah.... he's getting ready."

Neit nodded, lips twitching suspiciously as he looked away, and she wanted to scream.

WHY DO ALL THESE ASSHOLES LIKE TO SLEEP NAKED?! Shameless bastards.

 _Well,_ she thought, _if she had an ass that nice she probably wouldn't care either._

She slapped a hand over her face and shook it quickly. _STOP THAT!_

 

 

Just before lunch everyone gathered in the solar room so that they could all eat together and go over the afternoon's plan once more. She sat between Tristan and

Boreas, munching quietly away at her food while they continued on talking.

"I can take her out to meet the dragon my lord."

They looked over at Wraith, who shrugged.

"It would be no problem."

"That would be good, because I don't really want to leave one of the poor horses standing there all afternoon.."

Boreas snorted and she stuck her tongue out at him, but Tristan was nodding.

"Yes I suppose that would work. I still wish that we could all go with you, or at least one of us..."

She patted his arm and sent him a reassuring smile, hoping to help his feelings while the others nodded. She kind of wished they could too, but they'd already been over this.

"At least I'll have Dainia and Zaltheim with me, so I won't be all alone."

He nodded and covered her hand with his for a moment, squeezing lightly before moving the subject on to other things. She didn't want to forget anything, so she listened intently. She doubted that she would though, even if there was a lot to cover, because she had a million questions for the dragon.

"Oh!"

They all turned to her as she squeaked, and she ducked her head sheepishly.

"Sorry I just remembered something."

They all laughed a little and Tristan squeezed her shoulder.

"It is alright flower. What was it?"

She chewed her lip, wondering if it was stupid, then sighed and said it anyway.

"I realized last night that I had actually forgotten something that L-uh, *he mentioned once, that confused me. He said something about, ah, that he shouldn't be surprised about my power with my heritage...?"

They all looked at her with surprise, sharing looks between themselves and a few shrugs.

"I have no idea what he could've meant...."

"I believe I might."

Iridius shot a look at Boreas, then Tristan, as if asking permission, and they both waved at him to go ahead. She perked up and waited, wide eyed.

"It is obvious you have powerful magic in your genes, so it is possible he meant only that he can sense that in your blood... do you have any ideas about that? A family member who could be something else?"

She started to make the offhanded comment that they were all 'something else' and laugh, but then she stopped and realized it was a legitimate question. She thought about it a few moments, wracking her brain for anything.

"I suppose I could rule out several people instantly, but the thing is... I have a huge family... I don't even know all of them. My mom though.. she's ah..."

She twisted her hands together, looking down to hide the instant tears that sprang up as she thought about how much she missed her.

"She's amazing... uhm.. she's one of the brightest souls, y'know? She's always really outspoken and ah, kind of loud-"

She huffed a laugh, reaching up to swipe at her cheeks.

"But she's the most loving person, the best mom you could ask for... I got like, everything about me from her, well and my grandpa, but she's always smiling, and when she laughs, its like.. contagious. She can fill up a room with her laugh, and you can hear her if you're anywhere around. My papaw was like that too, with this deep, booming laugh... it turns heads everywhere they would go.."

She cleared her throat and wiped at her cheeks again, giving the guys a watery smile as she looked up. They were all staring at her with these soft expressions, half smiling like they could the person she was talking about. She wished they could.

"Uhm... she's like me, and like papaw too, like animals were always drawn to them, always loved animals... I've known of her getting really mean or wild animals to like her when they wouldn't anybody else, and papaw, he could call anything to his hand. Like, for real, he had a pet duck for momma when she was little. Used to drive mamaw crazy."

She took in a deep breath before she started crying, jumping when Tristan and Boreas both wound an arm around her tightly. It made her huff a half embarrassed laugh, but she returned the one armed hugs and certainly didn't pull away.

"Uhm... I don't know if that really makes them anything magic... not like what yall mean."

She fell silent for a moment, thinking, until Tristan gently prompted her.

"What about your father?"

She startled, thinking *duh, and sent him a tremulous smile.

"Oh yeah, my dad... he's awesome! Like, he can fix any freaking thing! He's a mechanic right, so he fixes machines and cars and anything.... he's always been good with dogs but I think that's like it, or horses and cows, stuff like farm animals or whatever... oh he was a sniper! Like he's an epic shot with his rifle, he did that in the military, like, he was a soldier and stuff... daddy kicks ass. He's actually pretty calm, compared to momma, he's always the voice of reason or whatever. I don't know how mom got by before they got mar-rr....ried......"

She trailed off as she realized something, turning her head to look at Iridius whose fond smile had faded to a curious expression at her sudden look.

"What is it? Did you think of someone?"

She was pretty sure she was going pale, it felt like it as several things rang together in her head.

"You mean... you mean by blood don't you?"

Iridius's brows furrowed together in confusion. "Yes, it can only be passed through blood."

She nodded slowly, looking down, and lifted her gaze to Tristan as he spoke. "What is it flower?"

"I.... it could actually be my _father,_ I suppose...."

"What do you mean?"

"I... uhm... I didn't know my father... my daddy is uhm... not my *father... the man who raised me isn't my blood father I mean, but he is my *dad."

Tristan was looking at her as if she'd lost her mind, and she sighed.

"My mother and father were having problems,... they divorced .., ah, well, they were married, like mated? Yeah, and they split up, right after I was born. My mom remarried, to dad, and he's been around ever since."

" _Oh_ ,... I understand, I believe. So what about him then?"

"...I... I don't know. I can tell you what my mom told me about him. She said he was a good father, if not the best mate... she said he was a black belt in ka-ah, well, that he was a really good fighter, and dancer, and all this other stuff... like he was good at everything, y'know? Even my sister said much the same thing, she knew him better than me, she was already nine years old when I was born. I uhm... I didn't know him. He died in a car-uhm, in an accident, when I was only a year old so..."

She shrugged, biting her lip as she looked up, and saw Tristan nodding.

"I am sorry to hear that flower..."

She could only lift her shoulder again, as if to say whatever, but he touched her cheek lightly, leaning over to drop his forehead against hers to make her halfway smile. She finally turned back to Iridius, who looked contemplative.

"It could have been your father then, since we have nothing to really go on. Well, we shall not worry over the matter unless some other evidence were to come to light."

She nodded, and they continued on talking until it was time to head out.

 

 

Upon reaching the stables, they were met with an unfortunate surprise.

" _What do you mean?_ "

The young Sidhe looked as if he were really to bolt, terrified as he stared up at the Prince and the King, as well as her and the other guards looking at him in surprise.

"I-I am sorry your highnesses, b-but the horses have all been taken out to the o-other breeding stables for the day! They will be back t-tonight, if-"

"No, no it is alright, do not worry over it. You may return to your duties."

Tristan sent the boy a smile, and the young Sidhe brightened considerably before he turned and bolted back into the stables. Tristan then turned to the rest of them, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighed, shoulders dropping.

"Now what shall we do?"

She touched his hip to get him attention, eyebrows furrowed worriedly until he glanced at her. She gave him a smile and winked before turning around.

"I'm sure we've got this. Don't you think Wraith?"

He blinked wide eyed at her, looking around everywhere for some clue. "U-uhm, yes...?"

"Good! So go ahead then."

He continued to stare at her as the others looked at him expectantly, and finally she relented with a small laugh.

"I bet one of the shadow horses would give us a ride, if you call them and I ask nicely."

Instantly he went a little stiff, swallowing as recognition dawned. She moved over to him to take his hand reassuringly, still smiling warmly up at him, keeping her voice soft.

"It'll be alright, you've gotten to where you have perfect control, and I don't think they would mind..."

She tugged his hand, sending a quick glare at Stratos who straightened like a whip, clearing his throat and speaking up.

"Yes Wraith she is right, with all of us working with you, you have gained much power and control. You could show the King here what you have learned, I am sure he would be happy to see."

Wraith actually perked up a little, glancing over at the King curiously, who looked intrigued, and at her pointed glare sputtered into agreeing.

"A-ah yes of course Wraith, please go ahead!"

When he turned back she was beaming innocently up at him, all confidence, and he sighed.

"Alright, I will try."

She walked over with him to stand a few feet away from the others, gesturing for him to go ahead as he paused then closed his eyes, taking in a long breath to steady himself. She knew the instant he reached for his magic, because he seemed to grow taller, more intimidating, the air around him darkening slightly when his music changed to the breathier croon of violins without the brighter side it normally had. Still, it wasn't scary, not to her, it sounded beautiful. As he reached his hands out, she glanced back to see Boreas taking a step forward, eyes intent on the Prince's second in command. She figured he could see it just as well since some of his magic was the same, and while he may have seen it before, he hadn't seen Wraith in action since they had gotten him practicing.

When the whispers echoed through the clearing, she looked back just in time to see the silver and ebony handle appear in his hands, fire trailing out from both ends like a phantom rope before disappearing into the air. The air around them darkened further, and she watched the shapes coalescing into forms that crawled out of horror movies and nightmares, too long, too skinny, too many limbs or bones or eyes, and then waved happily at them. She could see the ghosts of smiles appear over some of their faces, or what passed for their faces, a few moving closer to the both of them. She glanced back, and saw with only a little surprise that as the circle of beings passed around them they bowed with respect towards the UnSeelie king, whose music was kindling to Wraith's, tendrils of shadow flickering around him, and the crown of thorns was sparkling in the light.

So awesome, she thought, staring between the two men, transfixed in awe.

After a moment Wraith's yellow eyes opened, glowing with an inner flame, and he searched the depths of the beings around him. He raised one hand, beckoning toward something as his hair lifted in that soft ash scented wind. She turned to see, hearing the ghostly echo of what sounded like a horse neighing out, and the crack of hooves across the ground. The others parted, and through the gap came a creature like a skeleton, burning eyes flickering with a bright green flame as it came to a rip snorting stop, pawing at the ground. Excitement made her start to grin, but she waited, seeing if he would continue on his own. He tightened his hand around the handle, and held his free hand out, palm up. The animal walked forward slowly, throwing its head once, stopping just in front of Wraith to snort out a plume of smoke and then sniff almost delicately at his hand. Up close it was huge, its shoulders tall as Wraith's chin nearly, and just as wide.

When it let out something like a fond knicker of sound Wraith actually smiled, reaching up with the handle near its neck. When he did the flames burned green, and spread out, making a loop around the horses head and back until they looked like fiery ropes made into reigns. The horse tossed its head again to settle them, and when Wraith touched his palm to its nose she actually gasped in surprise. Around them the others began to fade away, and with a ripple of music and shadows that moved out like water over the animal from his hand, skin, muscle, and hair appeared. The horse snorted another plume of smoke as it stood proudly, pitch black silky coat, obsidian hooves shining in the sunlight, and long hair that trailed over its massive neck for a mane, matching the long furl of its tail as well.

He fully dropped the magic and turned back to her with a shy smile, and she let out an excited squeal as she threw her arms around his neck in a hug. He laughed, sounding relieved as he lifted her in a tight hug and put her back down, cheeks darkening slightly as he looked at the others sheepishly. Tristan and the others were openly grinning, and Boreas walked over slowly, eyes trained on the horse. When he neared, she and Boreas stepped apart to allow him by, and looked eye to eye with the horse a full minute before reaching out to touch it. It sniffed at him but let him pat its nose with a flick of its ears. Then he turned to Wraith and put a strong hand on his shoulder.

"You have a great power here Wraith, do not fear it. Even I, with the power I have, do not have the ability to call the shadows of our wild magic, pieces of the wild hunt, into solid existence without calling the hunt itself."

Wraith's eyes snapped wide at the omission, glancing once at the horse standing so nonchalantly at his side, and back. Then he straightened his shoulders and nodded at the king, eyes glimmering.

"Yes your highness, thank you."

 

Boreas nodded, sending him a small grin, and then her one too. Tristan walked over with the others on his heels, chuckling softly as he shook his head at them and curved an arm over her shoulders.

"Alright the lot of you, we all have things we must be getting back to."

He turned to look down at her, and she blushed a little as he smiled.

"Unfortunately. Now, please be careful, and try to stay out of further danger, hmm?"

"I'll try."

He hugged her against his side, looking at the others as they mumbled their goodbyes. After a moment Wraith turned and made a few gestures with the handle, and the reigns split, forming into a big saddle that slithered into existence over the horses back. It shuddered once as it settled and let out another plume of smoke, bumping Wraith with its nose and causing him to laugh a little. He vaulted up into the saddle and the horse sidestepped, apparently eager to be off, and Tristan sighed as he stood beside her to help her up.

"You're acting like I'm going to be gone a really long time."

She grinned cheekily at him, and he gave her a mock growl.

"Watch it flower, do not make fun of your prince."

She snorted and smiled at him, leaning forward to hug him once more. Then she took Wraith's hand, and Tristan grabbed her hips, picking her up and between them they easily got her up onto the gigantic ass horse. She looked down and squeaked, leaning back against Wraith.

"Good lord don't look down..."

"Why?"

"Its a long damn way!"

Wraith snorted and Tristan rolled his eyes at her, and she just stuck her tongue out.

"Leave me alone I'm terrified of heights! Come on, the sooner we go the sooner I can get back on solid ground!"

"I wonder if she has forgotten that she will be riding a dragon from the forest to the cave..."

She whirled at Stratos's side comment to the King who chuckled darkly, arms crossed as he watched, and then Wraith was taking hold of the reigns, putting the other arm securely around her.

"Look at that, we must go! I shall return shortly my lord."

"Hey wait what did he-"

"Take care of her Wraith! Stay out of trouble woman!"

She stuck her tongue out at Tristan but waved as the horse wheeled around and they were suddenly leaping forward. Its hooves seemed to fly over the ground as it lowered its head and thundered forward, sending her hair whipping out past her and tangling in Wraiths. She let out a laugh as they raced along, hands tight on Wraith's legs on either side of hers to hold on, and heard his answering laugh behind her.

"So cool!"

"Let us allow him to run shall we?"

"What!?!"

He clicked his tongue and nudged the horses side, flicking the reigns once, and the horse let out a ghostly whinnie before bolting forward. She would have fallen without Wraith's hold, and she squealed, knowing it surely echoed back to the others as the world began to pass by in a blur.

"Holy shit Wraith!!!”

His booming laugh echoed her shout as the black blur zipped out of the gates to the Seelie Sithen. Meanwhile, Belanus straightened from his spot in a small grove, watching with eyes filled with amusement as he shook his head and returned to checking his flowers.

"Such younglings...."

 

 

She was so excited she was nearly vibrating, shimmying around constantly, much to Wraith's amusement, looking around every bend for some sign. She could hear the sound of the dragons music, but there was _so much_ going on in this forest, hundred of strands of music and so many animals she couldn't count, nearly overwhelming with the chaos but it was so beautiful. She could almost swear there were even other dragon songs nearby-

"Look look Wraith!"

The rounded one last bend into the great clearing where the main road split into two to go around the forest, and one other road that was mightily overgrown leading deep into the enchanted woods themselves. In front of the road, which she couldn't currently see but she knew it was there, was Sareindiel. The gigantic golden dragon was settled down comfortably in the sun, her scales glittering like diamonds in the light. As they came riding up her wings shifted, obsidian claws kneading the ground as she stretched her jaw open on a yawn that raised her up above the tree line, eyelid snicking open to show one blue eye roll around and focus on them. Wraith pulled the horse to a stop as her muzzle curled slightly in a smile, hiding the sharp teeth that were bigger than she was as they jumped down to the ground.

"Greetings Great Dragon."

"Grrreetingsss ssshadow guarrd."

Aurora ran forward without hesitation as the dragon turned to look at her, flinging herself onto the muscled foreleg in a highly undersized hug that she still tried anyway.

"Hi Sareindiel! Its great to see you!"

There was a moment of silence where she leaned back and beamed up at the dragon, who seemed taken aback. Just a heartbeat later her eyes softened as she began a toothy smile in return, her wing coming down to slide over Aurora with a gentle squeeze as her breath puffed out and rustled her hair.

"Grretingss young daughter, thank you, it iss good to ssee you again asss well.."

She hummed happily at the dragon and sent Wraith a smile who chuckled and shook his head.

"I suppose I must return now my lady."

As the dragons wing moved away she hopped down and went back to him, pulling him into a hug.

"Thank you for bringing me Wraith."

He returned the hug and nodded, sending her a smile.

"It was no problem, but I am glad you prompted me to call for the horse, I do not think I would have been able to get so far with my powers were it not for you."

She sent him a skeptical look and tugged a lock of his hair, earning her a brighter smile from him.

"You would've done it, but okay. We'll keep on, and soon you'll be kicking ass like you do with everything else."

"We shall see.... now, when you are ready to return this night, you have simply but to call. Do you remember how?"

She nodded. "Of course!"

They'd had the idea one of the times they were practicing with his powers since she'd done something similar before. She could copy a furl of his music, and basically call to the shadows. They had found the creatures would answer her as well, although they didn't really understand why, and she could send a message to Wraith via one of them.

"Then I shall see you in a short time my lady... do be careful."

She rolled her eyes but pulled him in for anther hug then stepped back, watching as he mounted the horse again. She held up her arm for Dainia, who had flown along above them, though not quite keeping up, and the phoenix alit on her forearm carefully with a soft sound. Wraith sent her a smile, and she waved at him until he was nearly out of sight, then turned. Sareindiel sat as patient as ever, tail slowly flicking back and forth like a great cat as she watched with fond amusement.

"Are you rrready youngling?"

"Yes ma'am."

Aurora ducked her head when the dragon cocked her head curiously, and she suddenly couldn't remember if she'd ever heard that term here before. She found her cheeks heating as she grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"Sorry its... a term of respect back home..."

The dragon made a rumble of sound like a low chuckle, then moved around. Aurora watched avidly as she moved, she never thought she would get used to seeing a dragon, and Sareindiel was beautiful, graceful and lithe as she moved. When she'd put her long neck and head against the ground she brought her tail around to lay beside her muzzle, and looked at Aurora expectantly.

"You ssshould sit rrright at the crrown of my head, ssso that you may hold on to the firrrsst ssspike therre. The ssscaless are sssofterr, and it will be eassierr to sstay."

Aurora gulped past the sudden knot in her throat, staring wide eyed as the dragon waited, and Dainia shuffled her feathers, seeming to cover what could have been a burst of laughter with a coughed sound. She sent her a side eyed glare but squared her shoulders.

Fear of heights be damned, she was gonna get to ride a fucking dragon. Was she gonna chicken out?

_No fucking way._

May she embarrass herself by screaming? Maybe once.

With the dragons help, and the boost from her tail, she scrambled up as gently as she could to the spot the dragon had indicated, flushing when Sareindiel gave another laugh.

"You do not hhaaave to worry about hurrrting me, yourrr weight alone isss not enough to dent my scales."

She was situated between the two massive horns, with an almost flat ridge in front of her to hold on to, but she could fold her knees and be halfway under it, and that seemed to work she thought. It seemed like a good seat, and she answered the dragon while half distracted making sure she was settled carefully.

"Yeah, I probably couldn't dent your scales with mythril, but that doesn't mean I should be rude and stomp all over your beautiful neck like that either..."

She froze, and watched as the dragon was quiet a moment, before she answered.

"Thank you youngling, that isss very conssiderate of you.. Are you ready then?"

Dainia circled overhead, looking carefully at her, and she gave the Phoenix a thumbs up.

"Yeah! Ah, as ready as I'll ever be...!"

She was pretty sure the dragon was smiling when she straightened her wings out with a slow movement.

"Then we will be off... remember, the landingss and taking off are the harrdesst part."

Her eyes rounded at Dainia's cackle echoing the dragons words, and she got a death grip on the spike she held. Her wings lifted straight up, claws kneading the ground as she shifted like a cat about to pounce, and Aurora looked up. The two suns were glittering on soft clouds, the sky a bright violet today with the beautiful weather, and sunlight came bleeding through the membranes of the wings as they stretched up as far as they would go, bathing her in amber light. Beneath her the heat of the dragon seeped into her, lifting her slightly with the rise of fall of her steady breathing, the rushing of it like a great wind tunnel. It was like everything suspended there for a moment, Dainia sailing by once more, banking off to the side, her brilliant feathers like fire in the light, and Aurora could only stare.

Then the wings flexed, came down with a thundering burst of wind and a jerk that nearly had her smashing her head into the bone in front of her despite her hold, and they were lifting. Her stomach fell past her, staying behind as they lifted above the trees, the wings coming up again to beat, heavily parting the air as Sareindiel's muscles shoved them off. Then the wind hit her, blowing her hair back and buffeting her as they swooped forward and made a tight circle, one wing dipping down to point at the ground before they sailed up and off in the direction of the mountain she could see distantly.

Her heart was pounding, the wind roaring in her ears, limbs shaking as she stared around in pure awe at the world so far beneath them.

"Arrre you alrrright there daughter?"

She jumped at the voice, then gave a high pitched laugh, shaking her head wildly as the flight calmed now that they were going, wings sliding through the air in almost gentle swipes.

"Y-yeah! M'still here!! This is.... _this is AMAZING SAREINDIEL!_ "

The dragon laughed at her almost bellowed response, smoke pluming from her nose as they swooped just a little. Then she flapped her wings a bit faster, rising them higher, and Aurora couldn't quite hold in the reflexive squeal. But they lifted until they were pushing through clouds, leaving a fine mist of multicolored beads across her skin that shimmered in the sunlight, making her smile. They steadied and she reached a tentative hand to drag through one of the clouds, making water coalesce and run down her arm in a cool stream. Then she looked across a sea of clouds, far out into the world, saw a never ending blanket of stars behind the sky, splashes of colors that bespoke of other galaxies so very close, and there on the horizon that huge green planet with the ebony rings she'd noticed in her first moments here. She could see a few other figures way farther out, and knew they had to be other dragons flying along, bright specks on the horizon, and she thought her chest might burst with the awe and amazement.

"Oh my god Sareindiel, is this what you always see when you fly?"

The dragon hummed softly, and she continued to stare, momentarily forgetting her fear.

"Woooooooow...... its absolutely amazing.... I can't even ... imagine this _wow..._ "

She could feel the contentment from the dragon, and learned down to press her cheek against the ridge of bone that kept her safe, still watching with wide awed eyes.

"Thank you...."

The dragon hummed again, and for a little while, she forgot there were a million things that were clambering in her head, a hundred impossible problems to solve, and an evil brother trying to take over the world.  


The landing had been a little rougher, but once she'd wobbled across the cave floor and hit the wall, catching her palms on the rock with a short laugh, she'd steadied. Sareindiel was chuckling, walking through with her tail swaying deeper into the cave, small puffs of smoke following all behind her. When Aurora looked up at the weight of Dainia alighting on her shoulder, she caught the splash of colors past the end of her nose and pushed back so fast she threw up her arms, pinwheeling to stay up. Dainia tightened her talons into her shoulders, flapping her wings a few times to help and finally she steadied, staring wide eyed at the wall before her.

Surely it was four stories high, the painting in sweeping colors that ranged from bright, vivid things with so much detail it was hard to take in, to other things where it looked misty and muted, or darker splotches of history that seemed covered in rivers of blood. Those made her shudder as she stared, and she whirled at Sareindiel's voice.

"Coooome daughter, we hhhaaave much to dissscuss, and the beginningsss of the sidhe'ss hisstoory will not help you thisss day."

Aurora nodded, barely able to see the dragon at all anymore, save for a flickering plume of fire and the big, icy blue eyes focused on her from the depths of the cave just before it turned away. She could hear the slow steps, the clicks of her nails, the rushing of her breathing, and she took off after it, still halfway glancing over at the mural to watch time pass. Dainia shuddered and stepped closer, fitting her body almost completely against Aurora's neck, feathers ruffling and settling as she shifted. Without thinking she reached up and covered the phoenix's open side, fingers gentle over her wing as she murmured to her reassuringly. She wasn't even sure what had spooked her, maybe something in the mural, but she knew, at least right now, there was nothing to fear in this cave.

How she knew was beyond her, but hey, today was a day for questions right?

 

 

" _Sareindiel?_ "

Chills washed up her back as she moved forward in the utter darkness, one hand out in front of her to keep from hitting anything, steps light as she made sure there was ground in front of her before setting her weight down. Dainia was glowing softly from her perch on her shoulder, still looking freaked out, but even the small glow from her wasn't helping.

Had she taken a wrong turn? She thought it had been a straight shot but she couldn't hear the dragons footsteps or even her breathing any longer. She'd ran right after the dragon as she walked deeper into the cave, so what the hell!

She started as she realized, duh, she could _hear_ the dragon! With a huff at herself she mentally threw open the door to hear the music around her instead of just keeping it at a medium level, then instantly wished she hadn't.

She began scuffling backwards and to the side, reaching blindly for the wall that was suppose to be _right there_ , heart suddenly pounding so hard she thought it might burst from her chest.

There was a dragon song _right in front of them!_

/ _Daughter what is-!?_ /

"A-a-another dragon!!"

Dainia's squawk was loud, and preempted the rustling, the leathery sound of wings shifting, and a sudden spill of flickering light so bright it nearly blinded her. She hit the wall with a hiss, covering her eyes as other sounds assaulted her, and she could suddenly hear Sareindiel just past the other dragon, the sound of fire crackling, and the dragon's amused yet exasperated voice.

"Come, I told you that you blocked the tunnel with yooourrr wide backside! Move from the entranccce so they may enter, if they have not yyyeet rrrruun screaming. Daauughter? Come thrroouugh please, hheee will not hhhaarm you."

Dainia lifted off her shoulder to fly forward, sending a rather indignant flurry of caws toward the new dragon, who seemed to shift so he could see them if the sound meant anything.

But Aurora wasn't listening to that.

She was listening to the music coming from the new dragon, eyes wide open as she stared at the ground by her feet and tried not to hyperventilate.

She _knew_ it.

It carried the same base line as Sareindiel's, with that ancient, thrumming song of power, bespeaking that of a creature of power and age, but over that was the tune specific to each one. This one was darker, whispering of ancient groves of trees standing tall, mysterious depths of forests filled with magic and danger, a song that curled around him like a thick shroud.

_She knew it._

"Daauughter? Are you alrrright?"

Her pulse was roaring in her ears, leaving her light headed as she straightened up, pushed forward, and stopped feet away from the dragons front leg. Its great head swung around to see her, to really look at her, and paused, frozen, just as she was. She forced herself to look up, hands clenched into trembling fists at her sides, eyes burning as she focused him.

_She knew **him**._

 

\--

  
"Wh-what?"

She sat up, eyes bleary, blinking slowly as she rubbed her eyes and looked around to figure out what had woken her, half glancing at the clock and the numbers there. 2:35

"Momma?"

Her soft voice echoed back at her from her room, but nobody else answered. The covers slithered away as she slid out of bed, tugging her purple nightgown into place and wildly scratching at her hair to get a single itch, making the bed head she had worse. The cold wood made her shiver as she moved over to her door, pushing the button to turn her tv off, ignoring the different night lights she had on in her room, and the big, bright calendar on her closet door proclaiming that her tenth birthday was just three months away. She was excited for it and for fall, but she liked the warmth of summer too.

At her door she creaked it open, big eyes searching the darkness beyond until she found her mothers sleeping form across the hall in their room, lamp still on, book resting on her chest where she'd fallen asleep reading again. The door barely creaked but she heard the shift of fur and a soft growl, and she whispered to the puppy as he jumped down from her mothers side to see after the noise.

"Hey rocko, was'at you? Yeah I bet it was..."

She crouched down to pet him so he would be happy, watching as he returned to his place and closed her door softly, hurrying back to bed.

So had it been him?

She yawned and laid back down, facing her window and thinking of sleep when a glimmer caught her eye, and something else. She sat up quickly and jerked back the blinds, peering into their front yard, searching for what that had been. The streetlights had reflected off something, but it hadn't been a car passing, she'd have heard it, the road was thirty feet from her window. And she could hear music.

She pushed her little nightstand further out of the way, stepping between the blinds and the cold window to see, but nothing seemed to be moving out there. Even the outside dogs were sleeping.

But that music was _absolutely beautiful_ , she'd never heard anything like it. It was soft, or maybe far away, whispering through the air. It made her think of the tall trees and forests from her fearie tales, old places full of magic and secrets, standing stones and people who could work the magic that she read about.

She wanted to see what it was coming from, and she jumped when she realized it seemed to be getting a little louder, or closer.

Could it be a music box? Or a car stereo?

Whatever it was, it was outside! And she wanted to see!!

Without another thought she hurried to her door, eased it open, and stepped over the creaky floorboards until she reached the carpet, stepping lightly so that flimsy floor wouldn't shake her momma's what knots on their shelves in the curio cabinet and wake her. She was a light sleeper, even if daddy could sleep through a train coming through the living room. She grabbed the Christmas bells on the door with one little hand, holding them tightly to mute them as she opened the front door as quietly as possible, then the storm door, only opening it halfway so it didn't squeak, and leaving the wooden door not quite closed as she slipped out. Once on the concrete of the front porch she shifted foot to foot, looking all around the yard for the source of the music that was definitely louder out here, and growing louder. With a sudden gasp for an idea she bolted off the porch, into the dew covered grass, hands out in front of her as she pinwheeled to a stop and turned her face to the sky.

For a moment she didn't see anything, and she started to wilt, lips turning down, and then she froze. One of the groups of stars was moving, circling overhead.

They weren't suppose to do that!

"What is'at?!"

She whispered to herself, fascinated as she stared, and it seemed to dislodge suddenly, turning in wide circles before coming to hover over the yard she stood in, wind buffeting her clothes and hair as she gaped. Great ebony wings stretched out before her, attached to a dragon the deep blue of the night sky, studded with twinkling spots here and there like stars. There were several black horns adorning its head, spikes protruding from its neck, long black talons on its great paws, and a patch of silver along its underbelly.

Her knees wobbled together as she stared, and with another rush of sound it landed, curling its tail around it and folding in its wings as the snakelike head turned to her, focusing metallic silver eyes on her. A plume of smoke curled out of its maw as it opened and closed a time or two, and it seemed to be searching for a way to say something.

She jerked out of her awe inspired stupor to run forward with another gasp, eyes lighting up as she stared up at him, watching her curiously.

" _You're a dragon!_ A real dragon! A dragon!"

It seemed taken aback, then it snorted, something like laughter rumbling out of its wide chest, and it lowered its head to be closer to her.

"Yoouu aaarre yoouur faathers child."

"You talked! You can talk! Hey... you know my daddy?"

She furrowed her brow, staring at it suspiciously, and after another deep chuckle it nodded slowly.

"Yesss chhhild, hhe sent me to check on you. Thhhiis is the fiiirssst time you hhhave hheard me approach though."

"Why would he do that? He's inside asleep?"

The dragon paused, eyelid snicking in a rapid movement as it blinked, and refocused on her.

"Aahhhh, I mean yoouuur other faather."

She took several steps back, getting defensive, bristling.

"That daddy is dead! Don't lie! Where'd you come from?!"

The dragon's gaze seemed to soften, and it shifted slightly, great weight resting on its four legs and being careful not to tear up the front yard.

"Hheee isss not dead chhiiild, sssimply... not of thhiiiiss wooorld anymorrrre...."

Instantly she relaxed as if that made complete sense, nodding solemnly as she looked down and back up, then once more moved closer to the great creature.

"Oh... okay... well.. is he okay then?"

"Yyesss child."

"Do I get to see him?"

The dragon hesitated, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"I ffeeear not... hhiis worrld isss a daangerouss one for sssuch a youngling as yoouuu... but that isss why he sssendss me to check on youu froom tiiime to tiiime..."

She looked down with a dejected sigh, sending the dragon a suddenly sharp look.

"And my sister too right? And my momma? Its not just me!!"

Instantly the dragon nodded solemnly, and now pacified she relented, staring at him in silence for just a moment.

"So.. why did I see you this time? Or why did I hear you this time when I haven't before?"

The dragon seemed a little surprised.

"Whhhaat do you mean hhhear me?"

"Your music, it woke me up! I heard it! How're you makin music without anything anyway?"

It stared at her for several seconds in silence, before it shook its head.

"All things hhaaave music, if you but know hhhow to hhheear it."

Her eyes went wide with wonder as she stared at him, head filling with thousands of fairy tales and stories.

"Oh wooooow! I wonder what all I can hear! And - hey, but... I guess you can't stay can you? You have to go back to daddy, don't you?"

He nodded again, and she bounced from foot to foot, mind racing.

"Would you - would you take him something for me?!"

It seemed she had again surprised the dragon, and he hummed in agreement, eyes curious.

"Do you have a little while before you go back?"

".... a shhhort time, yes."

"Okay, wait right here!"

 

He watched her retreat back inside the house, shifting uneasily as he looked around the world he was in. One of those metal things drove by, bright lights illuminating him for a moment before passing on, a car he thought with a curl of his lip, and the night fell silent again around him. His head swung around as he heard a second voice inside the house, the patter of a small animal, and the child speaking. The front door was closed with a click and a ringing like a bell, and he stared curiously.

Had she changed her mind?

It was a few moments before he saw movement, and the child was raising her window and clambering out, rolling on the grass and coming up to him again, face flushed as she grinned brightly at him.

"M'sorry! Momma woke up and I had to pretend I was just gettin somethin to drink and lookin outside."

He watched as she plopped down in the grass beside him, laying down the paper she held and colorful pencils, spreading it over her folded knees and beginning to sketch and write across the paper. She kept looking up at him with these bright smiles every so often, and something in his chest seemed to be squeezing at the odd innocence of this little human, and how she'd instantly believed him, trusted him.

Her father was right to want him to check on her.

"Do yoouu want to hheeaar some stooories about my hhoome?"

She whipped around to see him in surprise, jaw falling, and nodded enthusiastically. He found himself settling down and talking to her, telling her about the wonders of his home, even telling her about her father though he did not point out the identity, and the magic in the world he came from. It was so different from here. The entire time she worked off and on drawing on something and writing.

It was when the first globe of rising sun began over the horizon and she yawned again, having long since moved to lean against his foreleg that he realized he must return. With a little prompting the girl pushed two or three polished looking papers into a small folded one, and then her letter, sealing it closed. Then she stared at him and he realized he didn't how he would carry it without hurting it.

"Hold on!"

She returned to her room, and came scrambling back, a long ribbon waving from her hand. With a few words from her he raised his paw, and she carefully tied the letter against one of his claws, looping the ribbon around and tying it tightly. Experimentally he wiggled the claw and it stayed, making her squeal in delight.

"Yay! Okay... uh.. I guess.. this is bye then..."

She looked so sad that it made him hurt, but he didn't know what to tell her. He hadn't even been suppose to be seen, much less talk. But he couldn't tell her that.

"Yyeess chhild.... perhhaaps I shall see you again soon..."

Her eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together, pausing to stare at him.

"What's your name?"

He blinked at her in surprise, once again, before telling her, and she told him hers, then rushed forward to wrap herself around his leg as much as she could in a tight hug. He folded his wing around her after a moment of shock, then hummed softly, making sure she touched the ground again safely.

"Now, to bed wwiiith you chhhild."

"Okay, okay! Thank you... you be safe on your trip back kay?"

He nodded, chuckling at her as she bolted back inside and leaned out the window to watch him take off, wings pushing him up and away towards the stars again. He saw her disappear back inside, and turned towards home, reaching for that thread of magic that connected him to Merlin so the old wizard would bring him back.

He had to report to her father too, before he became worried for his long absence.

 

\----

 

She stared into silver eyes that were wide, focused on her in shock, and forced out her voice.

" _Aranduil??_ "

 

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

Sareindiel sent a stunned and curious glance at Dainia as the Phoenix landed by her paw, watching the scene before them in stunned confusion. At her glance the Phoenix threw her wings up and shook her head wildly, as if to say she didn't know what was going on either. They turned back at a low rumble of sound to see the elder dragon heaving a sigh, the normally stoic lines of his face softening as he stared down at the slip of a human in front of him.  
" _I-it's you.... isn't it?!_ "  
Aurora swallowed past the lump in her throat, knew her eyes were burning, filling with hot tears that threatened to spill at any moment, but she couldn't stop them. She was shaking so hard it felt like her bones were knocking together with the effort to hold herself still. Her chest was aching with something, so many things. She pressed her fists against the bones over her heart and willed it to keep beating, even if breathing was like drinking broken glass at the moment.  
"Yyyeesss chhhiiiild..."  
"I'm not a child anymore!”  
The other two flinched back at the way she snarled at him, but he merely dipped his head in acknowledgement.  
"Yyyyooouu are rriiiight, you arrrree not. It hhaass been many yyyeearss hheere... I thhooughht yoouu long gone from yooouur wwoorld..."  
She paled, feeling shaky, lost, like that small child once more.  
"M-many years?! But its..its been like... like twenty? Yeah something like that... how... how long has it been here?"  
He shook his head, muzzle curling slightly as a puff a smoke rolled past his teeth.  
"I do not kknnow yyooungling... tiiime passes differently for ourrr kind than yoouurrsss.. but it waasss the great Merlin whhoo sent me to yoouu in thoosse times... hheee hhhass been lost maanny cccenturrriess.."  
Grief pierced her heart, even though she didn't understand why.  
"But - why would he - why would he do that?! What about my father?! Where is he??"  
Those silver eyes turned sad as they focused on her, and she knew, she just knew-  
"I do nnooot knnooow...."  
" _HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW?_ "  
"Hheee wasss.... there were fffeew ssssidhhhe thhhat shared the inner circle of Merlin, but thhoose ffeew went everywhheere withh hhiiim... thheee laasst tiiime hhee left on a quessst for the gods... hheee hhhaas never returned, nor any of the Sidhe that traveled with hhiiim..."  
She slapped her hands over her mouth as the tears finally spilled over, a sob wracking through her frame. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly she shook her head, not wanting to believe it.  
No, she'd come all this way, believe, hoped this whole time that she would find Merlin, something, but-  
"Ccooome yooungling, do not crrryy sssssoo..."  
She glanced up at the touch on her arm, looking in shock at the dragon who had reached forward with the great paw of his, carefully trying to move her forward, the obsidian claws curled all the way around her. Another ragged sound tore from her throat at the gesture, and she moved forward, pressed against the shoulder of the creature she'd so long thought nothing but a dream. He moved his paw forward to touch her back, leaning down to bump against her with his muzzle, his breath sending her hair flying, the rumble of his voice under her oddly comforting as he spoke again.  
"Thheere is yyyeeet hhope yooungling... Merlin alwaaayys sssspoke of thheee tiime differennccess between the wwwoorldss he visssited. It could hhaave only been weeeeks whheereever thheeey are... it iisss whhyy wweee haaave all hhheeld out hhoope for hhiis return so llooong...."  
She listened to him, nodding silently as the tears slowed marginally, wanting to laugh at the fact that this great dragon was delicately patting her on the back as he tried to comfort her, someone the size of his foot.  
But it was not quite enough just yet.  
"C-can you tell me about him? ....my father I mean..?"  
"I.... caan tell you hhiiis magic wwwas unlike any other of hhiiss tiimme... hhee was a good man, honorable, resspected.... but I can tell you no more..."  
"Why not!"  
She swiped at her face, leaning back to look at him, watching that great silver eye shift to refocus on her from feet away.  
"I am afraid hheee made me promise many yeeaars ago... I can tell you nothhiing about hhiiim until you find out whhoo hheee is yoouurself.. I believe hheee knew you wwoould come hhhere one day..."  
She stared at him, feeling her heart stutter in her chest, the war that waged wanting her to just give in, to respect his promise, or to rage, rant, and scream until he told her.   
But a promise is a promise, and the dragon had done nothing wrong, so she couldn't do that to him.  
He continued to watch her, waiting, perhaps, on her decision, seeming hesitant and waiting for the fallout.  
No, she couldn't do it.  
She moved forward to lean against his jaw, shaking her head against the scales that seemed so much softer there, and gave a long sigh. When she leaned back, she could see the surprise in his mercurial gaze, and she stroked her hand down the same place, watching his eyes soften with relief.  
"Thank you, Aranduil... s'okay... I mean, of course I wanna know but... you made a promise, even if I don't really understand why he would ask that... maybe I'll get to meet both of them one day..."  
The dragon hummed softly, bumping her jokingly and making her laugh a little as she stumbled back, shoving at him with a small growl. When he raised his head they both looked over at the other two occupants of the cave who were still staring with giant, incredulous gazes, and they both went sheepish.  
Aranduil let her explain quickly, and although Sareindiel gave the other dragon a long look, which he pretended to ignore, she nodded in understanding, as did Dainia.  
"Thhiss perhhapss goess sssomewhhaaat with our talks today then..."  
Aurora nodded, feeling her stomach tie up, and for the first time looked around at the cave they were in. It was a rounded out cavern, just as tall as the rest, with several offshoots from the main one. She could see one that seemed to curve down somewhat, with a flickering fire inside, and piles among piles of treasure. It made her hide a smile, wondering if the tales of dragons hoarding treasures and other trinkets because of their sparkle and value were true. She would just ask one of the guys later.  
She couldn't see far into the other tunnels, assuming the one with treasure was perhaps where Sareindiel slept. There were carved out places along the walls between the tunnels, holding various books and object, all that looked so very old, and so strangely important. She wanted to walk around and look at each of them, feeling an actual itch in her hands to do so, but refrained. Each one held a different song wafting from it, all like the low peals of distant bells or flutes, soft music, but every one a little different. She stepped a bit farther from the tempting walls, towards the center where a great fire pit had been dug in the floor of the cavern, which she just noticed had been covered in soft white sand. The crackling bonfire was warm against her skin, making a little of the tension slide from her muscles as she watched the dancing flames. It made her think again of Aedh.  
That brought her attention up to the mural still dancing across the farthest wall, and stretching into the depths of one of the offshoots of this cave, fading away into darkness.   
_Geez, hope that's not an omen._  
"Whheere would yoouu like to ssstarrt daughter?"  
Aurora turned back to face the golden dragon, looking once at Aranduil, then Dainia, and finally she sat down on the ground, folding her legs to be somewhat comfortable. They could be here a while.   
"Why do you call me that?"  
Something simple, she thought, maybe ease into these crazy revelations. She started in surprise when Aranduil dropped down to lay on his belly right behind her, shifting around until he was comfortable, earning him an eye roll from Sareindiel. It made her grin, and she glanced at him as he bumped her with his snout, prompting her to lean back against his side. She relented easily, letting out a soft sigh, and she wondered if she imagined the way the gold dragon's eyes softened as they watched her.   
"I can sssensse the blood in your veeinss, ssssmell the magic that rrrunss thrrroough yoouu... therefore I know yoouu arre daughter to one of our sssidhe, an old and powerful one. Those arre frrrriendss with dragonsss, and therefore, I call yoouuu daaauughter as well..."  
Aurora glanced down at Dainia while she listened, watching as the Phoenix walked over to the fire, stretching a wing into it as if testing it, then stepped right into it. She almost yelled out, going tense, but stopped herself first, just barely. The Phoenix was clawing at the ashes, fluttering around and ruffling her feathers, acting like a bird would do back home in a bird bath. It made her kind of grin to see her doing something like that, seeing how her feathers lit up within the fire and began to shine. Then she looked back at the dragon to nod.  
"Okay.. that makes sense... and thank you, I ah... that actually means a lot to me, that you would call me something like that..."  
Sareindiel hummed softly as she dipped her head, giving her a slightly toothy smile.  
"I'm gonna to assume that also means you don't know anything about my father then either, since we've established that's obviously where I inherited my magic from...."  
"I fffear I do not.."  
"Its alright, it was a long shot anyway... which I guess brings me to my next question... but first, Dainia has already told you everything that has happened so far that you've missed? Like all the crazy shit happening at the Sithen?"  
She waited on the dragon to nod, and glanced questioningly at Aranduil too, who inclined his head.  
"Shhee spoke freely in front of me as well, since I ammm one of the elder Dragons, and thheey know thheeey can truusssst me."  
"Okay... so then... I need to... uhm... well, I'm going to try to perform the Carminum Rituum."  
Both dragons nodded, and she continued.  
"So, I need to figure out ... how the hell to do it! And... how to get the other artifacts back from Llyr. Is there a way??"  
Sareindiel's eyes were fierce as she stared at Aurora, as if judging her, assessing her, and she sat up a little straighter, returning the gaze as best she could. After a moment, the dragon inclined her head, turning her icy blue gaze to the wall of shelves, and with a small ripple of music one of the books rose up, levitating over before her. Aurora watched, amazed, as the pages flipped rapidly, the smell of old ink and parchment filling the air before the dragon found what she wanted and with a flick of her eyes the book sailed over to her. She hesitated just a moment before tentatively reaching up for the leather wrapped tome, hands gentle as it settled in her grip and she lowered it to her lap. Aranduil was looking over her shoulder, watching closely.  
"This is... a spell? To bring them back? ...... oh to call them....."  
Sareindiel nodded, waiting patiently while she tried to translate it. She brushed her fingers across the page and the scrolling words, the runes that flowed over the parchment giving long instructions, and the few small doodles of pictures that graced the page.  
"It seems kind of complicated... I keep thinking I can read it but... its just... not coming through right..."  
She knocked a fist against the side of her head, shaking it once. "I haven't quite gotten the hang of using these runes yet, I mean... I know a few, but the guys were still teaching me, its entirely different from what I learned at home..."  
When she glanced up at the silence, both dragons were looking at her in surprise.   
"What??"  
"Thhhoose bookssss were written by Merlin, wiiith a mmaaagic that only thoose wwoorthy of the sssspells can deecccipherr."  
She blinked down at the book and looked back up with a frown.  
"But its just runes, words like all parchment.... I don't understand how its warded."  
Aranduil spoke up this time, words rumbling down her spine. "Try to use yoouuur maagic yoouungling... ssssee what haaappens..."  
She just nodded, trusting their judgement, and looked back down to the book. After a moment, she remembered hearing the music from them earlier, and tuned in to it. It slithered into her senses, wrapped around her head and brought her pulse into her throat.   
Then suddenly, it clicked. She smoothed a touch over the letters, curling her hands until she could press the pads of her fingers against three specific runes that seemed to glitter brighter than the rest. At the pressure, the surface rippled like water, a glow illuminating every scratch across the page, every mark and picture. The light shot up into the air, forming a box in front of her that filled with pictures, sounds, scents, feelings, everything flashed before her eyes like a movie. Music, magic, the hum of power, power coming together to harmonize, and one figure in particular with music that called to her, with soft, familiar eyes-  
She jerked her hands away from the pages with a gasp, and the light stuttered down to a dull glow before fading away. Both dragons were watching intently, waiting, and after she caught her breath, giving a shaky laugh, she finally answered.  
"W-well, that was... that was fun... uhm... wow.... okay so... I _can_ call the elements back to their respectful owners.... like, the ones who should be rightfully wielding them...."  
The dragons shared a look, and she belatedly realized Dainia had left her fire behind at some point to settle by her knee, and was looking at her expectantly as well. It must have been a little longer than she thought, because it had only felt like seconds.  
"So.... I just have to figure out who that is. If I can figure out who each element is, I can just... _cal_ / the magic, and it will respond... but _how_ am I suppose to know who all the chosen ones are?"  
She groaned in frustration, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes. In her head, the voices whispered softly, rustling from the depths of something with a warm glow that said _you already know_.  
"Yeah well thanks Yoda that was helpful!"  
She didn't realize she'd snapped the answer out loud until the dead silence around her registered. She peeked around her hands to see all three creatures staring at her with dropped jaws and wide eyes.  
"Wh-what? Look m'not looney okay? Its these whispers I hear! They're usually helpful but sometimes they're really fucking vague and ANNNNOOOOOOOOYING!"  
She drew it out pointedly, rolling her eyes at the amusement she felt from them in response, and both dragons shared intent looks, before Sareindiel spoke.  
"Daaauughter, we all felt... the power of the grrreat Godsss... and then yoouuu hhheeard...."  
Aurora paled, waiting in silent horror on some kind of response. When it finally came, a soft ringing of agreement, she nearly screamed.  
"What? WHAT?! _REALLY?!_ ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?? REALLY?"  
There was the amusement again, and she bent over to press her forehead against her ankles, trying not to hyperventilate. Warmth trailed over her shoulder, a tentative soothing touch, and she shuddered once, trying to figure out exactly how to react to such a revelation. Just what was one suppose to do when conversing with _GODS?!_   
She straightened up fast enough to give herself whiplash as an answer came through. It wasn't in words, so much as an idea that just popped into her head, and instantly the whispers hummed in agreement.   
_Do what you've been doing_.  
She swallowed in trepidation, wanting to agree but...  
Each of them looked up at a sound coming from one of the caves, and Aurora scrambled to her feet after she gently sat the book down. The voices echoed off the walls, resounding inside the room. Soft wind blew up from somewhere, making the flames flicker and jump higher, the air suddenly feeling heavier, thick with the scent of lightening, ozone and dark earth mixing to trail across her senses in a rush that left her breathless.  
How many times had she caught that smell, that feeling, that response, before?  
One more sound, one gentle push from the voices, and she was running, sprinting across the cave floor as the others yelled out after her in fear. There was a sound like thunder as the two dragons rushed to follow her, and in the dark she ran, stumbling slightly, until suddenly something was lighting her way. She looked up at the rain of embers, and Dainia had lowered to fly just in front of her, her glow bright in the pitch black, dripping burning red and gold light from her feathers like liquid fire. She flashed her a thankful smile, and the Phoenix nodded, winging steps ahead of her to help.   
When they reached an archway, Dainia banked up suddenly with a cry, and Aurora stumbled over the threshold before she could pinwheel to a stop. When she did she whirled, seeing both Dragons halted side by side in the entrance, chests heaving, Dainia hovering between them. They were all staring behind her, and one by one, with Dainia landing and holding her wings out at her sides, all three animals bowed down.  
 _Shit there's something behind me._  
It was then she realized she wasn't seeing by the glow of the Phoenix anymore, and she cursed her situational awareness as she turned slowly, swallowing past the knot of trepidation, eyes wide as fear zinged through her entire body with a burst of adrenaline.   
They were in another cave, this one smaller, but no less beautiful. Every inch of the surface save the very center was covered in multi hued crystals of every size, some much bigger than even her. They protruded from the ground and hung from the ceiling like stalactites and stalagmites, blindingly bright as they reflected some sourceless light in a thousand colors. In the very middle stood a lone tree, one that seemed long dead, the thick trunk hollow and long branches bare, but it was gigantic, roots dug into the soil that created a circle around the trunk, strangely free of the crystals. In this, as there had been in Stratos's vision, the tree had a knothole in the center, but this one was huge, nearly big enough for her to crawl into. She took a step forward without thinking, feet scraping across the ground with the movement. It made a harsh sound that echoed loudly in the silence around her, making her flinch in surprise and snap out of the momentary awe to look around.  
Because she realized the music around her had stopped.  
There was _none._  
She turned back to see the others had straighted and were watching her intently.  
"There... theres no music here... what is this place...."  
"It isss whheere Merlin came to commune with the great Godsss....."  
"But without hhiiisss pressencce, the tree hasss long sssincce died... leeaaaaving the sssssileccce of death in the placcce of the muuuusssssicc of liiiiiiffee....."  
Aranduil looked saddened by his words, as did Sareindiel and Dainia, but Aurora got the feeling that wasn't right. She turned back, eyeing the crystals, the tree, and felt that same tug deep down. Okay, yeah, she got the hint. She started forward with a determined stride, clenching her fists at her sides and taking in a long, steadying breath.  
"Let's just see who's chosen then..."  
Her soft murmur reached her friends and they made low sounds of worry, or maybe protest she wasn't sure, but she did know she wasn't stopping. There was too much on the line to go with half assed guesses and barely there answers. At least in this she could make a damned real stand, and with a strong base, she could build on that.  
She stopped momentarily, toeing off her shoes and setting them aside, toes curling against the cool granite under her feet for a half second before she stepped forward onto the black soil that made a perfect circle around the tree, surely twenty foot across. She opened her senses, took a moment to pause and stop trying too hard, to listen to what few instincts she had.  
There was the faintest trace of music from the tree, a thread of sound like a lullaby, and she knew then with a small smile, she had been right. It wasn't dead, it was sleeping.  
 _Waiting._   
She moved forward, stopping just shy of the tree to get down on her knees, the skirt of her dress a splash of green against the barren ground, dirt tracking along her legs and clinging to her in cold clumps. But it was alright, she'd done something like this more times than she could count, it was just like it had always been; in the quiet of a fairy circle outside, secluded away from the world, there would be faint songs she could hear. Soft, whispering tunes she had never heard before, the feeling of warmth, home, safety. She leaned forward and buried her hands in the earth, breathing in as she heard a single thump of response, like a heartbeat. Sluggish, slow, but there.  
Without another thought, she called the music of the tree.  
It was a soft call, a gentle tug on the spark of life she could just barely hear, and it answered. The song picked up with the steady thrum of earth under it, the drums that beat solidly, bringing her own heart to following its rhythm; the same song she'd heard with the element when she had called it. The tree's music responded, thready but there, and she prompted it, sent her music forward to wrap around it and coax it back to life.   
In this, her confidence did not waver; she knew she was right, that she could do this.  
She still startled as the crystals around her flared to instant life at the sound. Lights of all colors began dancing inside them, illuminating the room, and each one reflected the music back to her in a thousand different pitches.   
She could only stare in awe for several seconds before she jerked back to herself, and stared at the trunk of the tree with renewed determination. She waited, but it wasn't doing anything else.   
Why...?   
A thought nagged at her, an idea taking form, and then the whispers again, guiding her on.  
 _It needs more than earth to live..._  
Yeah, that sounded right.  
She pushed to her feet, looked around, and noticed that there were six crystals halfway in the dirt surrounding the tree, all taller than her, seemingly the same but standing out to her like beacons.  
 _Probably because they were._  
She walked to her left, touched her hands to the first one, and pushed the line of music she held to the earth into it. For a moment, nothing happened, but she continued, holding the thread, and green light erupted within the crystal. She yelped as warmth raced up her arms, leaving a tingling trail of power in its wake. Emerald runes flashed to life on her arms, written in scrawling letters that danced across her skin. She stared in shock, looking back at the crystal for a moment, then nodding. Okay, okay she could do this.  
Stepping back, she watched as it continued to hum strongly, and she smiled a little, turning to move on to the next one. It took her no time to think of the sound of Tristan's music, and she pushed the sound into the crystal. Blue flickered inside, but it wouldn't take like the other one. She stepped back and frowned at it, wondering why it wasn't-  
 _Oh._  
She shook her head, picking apart the music, thinking back to her meeting with Llyr, and how she'd noticed the base music under everything, how it all traced back to an element, and realized that's what she'd done wrong. With another light touch, she bowed her head, remembering the lilting harps of the water, and pushed that into the crystal. Instantly it was flooded with blue light, illuminating that corner with the rippling light so much like water, then the same warmth flared up her arms, and sapphire runes wrote themselves into existence alongside the others. She stepped away, smiling wider as she moved on.  
Now that she understood, it took her moments to activate the next few, with fire and air, then light, and shadow. When all of the crystals resonated together, the rainbow of light making the room achingly bright, her arms covered in twisting lines of runes that seemed to shift as she breathed, she returned to the center, standing before the tree, and held her hands up. The whispers were back, urging her on, and she prompted the music on. Each of the crystals responded instantly, the hums of their music raising higher as it coalesced, and as bolts of power began arcing around the beacons, she called the music to her hands.  
Beams of light shot from each of the crystals and into the space between her palms, circling and mixing with a ringing of sound like a bell. Around her the other crystals picked up the sound, and the very ground vibrated under her feet, making her bones tremble with the music. It sounded like it was loud enough to shake the entire world, roaring in her ears as her heart pounded. The power seemed enormous, sizzling through her veins and aching through her, making her sway and gasp in a breath. Before she could drop it, she braced herself, focused her gaze forward, and directed it to the tree.   
The ball of light and sound slammed into the trunk with a pop and sizzle like lightening striking.  
She flinched back, hands up to ward off the blow, but then she was staring as light filled every inch of the tree in an iridescent glow, pulsing with the heartbeat under her feet. The tree began to shake, limbs groaning as they whipped through the air, and with the splintering of bark it seemed to explode. She dropped to her knees, arms across her face as she halfway turned away, and slowly the light and sound faded. The music slipped away, and she was panting to catch her breath, heart thundering against her ribs, adrenaline still singing through her blood. Finally she lowered her arms to look, and the entire cave was back to normal, quiet and still, save the tree.   
It now stood tall, limbs covered in thick, bright green, newly formed leaves, with soft pink and white apple blossoms that scented the air around her. There in the front was a single shiny red apple, hanging precariously on a limb right above her, and she opened her hands just in time for it to let go and fall into her grip.   
"Thank you..."  
She barely murmured it, and this time when the whispering filtered through she could identify them as a million tones, layered together in two voices, of a female and a male. The same feeling of hearth and home she had always gotten when practising back at home surrounded her in a warm brush of comfort, and she realized that was exactly why she'd not rejected the voices to begin with.  
She really had known them all along.  
The apple was heavy in her hand a moment, and after she nodded in response she tucked it away in her pocket and stood as the voices fell silent. She started to turn, go back to her friends, but she stopped, glancing at the tree again. A sparkle of something caught her eye, and she moved forward, toward the shadowed depths of the hole in the tree, reaching in without hesitation after the object that had caught her eye.

\--

_~Back at the Seelie Court_

Iridius stood beside the Prince, the UnSeelie King, and the few guards who were always with them. Tristan was speaking to the King about the dispute he had just settled between two Sidhe, and it made the old scholar smile, knowing that all of them were doing their best to keep him distracted. He was worrying himself sick over his female, and although they were all worried about her, he was certainly the most outwardly effected. Though if he were true with himself he was just as worried, fearing for the safety of the human who had wormed her way into all of their hearts, and taken such a heavy burden upon her frail shoulders.  
"Iridius?"  
"Forgive me my prince my mind was elsewhere, what did you say?"  
The Prince's shoulders seemed to wilt, and the others sent him a dirty look, making him flinch. Grief, and he had just been congratulating all of them on keeping his mind off the fact that she had been gone a little over two hours.  
"It is alright Iridius, mine is as well..."  
"Do not worry so nephew, I believe she is surely stubborn enough to get through anything."  
Tristan laughed at his uncle's joke, nodding despite his worry as the others chuckled. The UnSeelie king sent Iridius a dark, warning look while the prince was distracted, and he swallowed a tad nervously with a slight nod. Message received: /Do not upset my nephew./  
When Tristan faced him again he was smiling, and Iridius could not help but smile back.  
"Come my lord, you have one more appointment for the da-"  
His words cut off with a strangled sound of shock, and his knees buckled. The others were there instantly, catching him and speaking with worried voices, setting him gently into a seat one of them pulled over. He was shaking, eyes closed tightly as the hum of the crystals rang through his head, humming higher and higher until they all hit that note of harmony, coalescing into the sacred song of the continuum for only a heartbeat before they faded away.   
His hearing returned slowly as he gasped in a free breath, and Tristan halted in his order to call for one of the healers.  
"Iridius! Iridius what is wrong!"  
"You must talk to us scholar, we cannot help until we know the problem!"  
"S-she has.... she has.... by the gods...."  
Iridius found hands clapped around his face, jerking him up to look into sea blue eyes that were darkening with the storm behind them.  
"She who?! Tell me what has happened Iridius!"  
He could feel tears pricking his eyes as he swallowed, and his explanation met nothing but stunned, and then relieved silence.  
"She has awoken the crystals in the cave that Merlin used to commune with the gods, and the tree now grows with new life."  
The prince looked ready to cry with relief as he stepped back, roughing his hands over his face before a bright smile lit his features and he laughed.  
"I do not believe it.... I do not believe it! She has done it!!"  
"I told you so.."  
Tristan turned to his Uncle who was smirking at him, and wrapped him in a hug that surprised them all as he continued to laugh.  
"And you were right uncle! You were right! Praise the gods!"  
The others began to laugh as he stepped back, looking a little sheepish as the rush of relief faded, but Boreas clapped him on the shoulder and joined in with them.  
"Yes... it seems for the first time, in more years than I care to count, that we have a ray of hope among us."  
Tristan nodded, and Iridius smiled up at them, rubbing his temples with a tired hand. They did, they finally had some hope of putting the darkness that threatened the world to rest.

\-----

Aurora disappeared halfway into the tree, reaching for the sparkle she had seen. Her hands brushed something smooth and cold, feeling over it to the bottom. She frowned slightly as her fingers pushed underneath it to lift it, and dug into what felt like sand. What?  
Either way, she settled her grasp on the heavy weight, tugging it out and rocking back on her heels as she cleared the knothole, staring in silent wonder at what she held. She barely noticed, but from between her hands spilled a line of white sand, familiar sand she had seen in several places.  
 _What was up with that?_   
She filed the question away for later, and looked deep into the artifact, feeling the satisfaction of having it curl deep into her bones, like it was hers, and she'd missed it without knowing it.  
When she turned around, her three friends were staring in shock and awe. She held up the opalescent crystal ball that was nearly the size of a volleyball, solid and warm in her hands, giving off a soft hum as it shone in the light.   
"I-is this what I think it is?"  
She swallowed, staring down at it, and the lines of script along her arms began to fade slowly. She squeaked in alarm, instantly trying to reach for the music of the crystal, and when it hummed to life, filling with a swirling fog, the runes flared brightly again. She hurried over to the others, curling one arm around the ball to hold it securely to her chest, and holding out her other arm.  
"Can you see these?! Tell me you can!!"  
The dragons shared a quizzical look, and Dainia flapped up to perch on her shoulder as the dragons turned their heads to peer down at her with two great eyes.  
"Do yoouuu mean the glowing wrrriting of the ssssidhheee on your arrrrmsss?"  
She slumped in relief and nodding frantically.  
"Yes! The others can never see them! What are they??"  
They straightened up, and Sareindiel tilted her head back as she spoke.  
"Lleeet usss return to the maaain cave, the magic hheeere isss sssstiffling in itsss power..."  
Aranduil nodded, as did Aurora, and she fell into step between the two dragons after they turned, both arms wrapped around the crystal ball.   
_Merlin's crystal ball!_  
She stared at it in amazement and wonder, still half disbelieving. But it was also one other thing; it was the seventh artifact. Just like with most of the other information she randomly got, she wasn't sure how, but she just knew. Sareindiel's voice brought her attention up to her as they walked along, and she listened intently.  
"Thhhossse mmaaarkingss appear on thosse whhhhoo arre chhhossen to wieeeld the elementsss pooooweerrs. It isss whhhyy you haaaave them all, because you arrre the one chhooosen for sssspirit, the sssseventh element whhhich bindsss the others together in hhhaaaarmony."  
Aurora looked down at them, glittering with quiet power, and nodded.  
"I guess..... that makes sense. But why can't everyone else see them?"  
"Wweee as draaagoonss hhhaaave different perccceptions of magic than yoouuur ssssidhhee. We ssssee thhiiingsss thheeey do not. For yoouuu, thheeey are yoouur sign that the person who wiieeeelds the artifaaaccts are true.... Yoouuu will see, or hear perhaps, any fakes or imitaaatiossss..."  
"Oh... okay.... do they always stay there where I can see them?"  
The dragon chuckled at her, and they walked around to return to their spots from before. Aurora continued to walk by Sareindiel while she listened, and was surprised when the dragon paused to look at her with a toothy smile.  
"Do yoouuu seee any ruunnesss upon my scales?"  
She leaned back and forth to look but shook her head in confusion, snapping her jaw shut when the dragon took in a deep breath. Music hummed to life as she began to blow out a curl of smoke that wound itself into a circle, and as the music clicked in her head Aurora gasped. Something flickered, and the smoke fell away to reveal a circle surrounding a straight up triangle with a second bar through through it, made of a pristine silver that looked like mercury, and in the surface she could see the flickering of clouds passing by. She glanced back at Sareindiel, and gaped in shock.  
She had stretched out one of her wings in a long line, and along the muscles ran lines of sparkling, gold and white tinted runes. Looking down, the matching runes on her own arms were lit brighter than the rest, and the crystal in her hands hummed softly in response.  
"You're the guardian of the element of Air..."  
Her voice was filled with awe, she knew, and Sareindiel dipped her head in a nod, letting the artifact disappear in another puff of smoke and her power slipped away. Then the runes faded until she could no longer see them.  
Wow.  
"So... they only show up when you want them to??"  
The dragon folded her front legs and settled down, wings smoothing down against her back as she got comfy, seeming to think of her answer for a moment.  
"Thheey will, but it isss not thhaaat precccissely. When they whhoo wwwieeld the power call upon it, thheeey will show. If theeiirr pooowwers encompassessss more than ssssimply the element they were chosen with, then the maaarkingss tend to only sssshhine when thheeey call thhhaat power, insstead of eeeverytime thheey wiieeld their own magic."  
She settled down by Sareindiel's great paw, gently putting the crystal in her lap once she folded her legs.  
"Tristan was chosen for water, and Boreas was for the earth... I don't think I've ever seen them on Boreas, but Tristan's are always there. Why is that?"  
The dragon hummed, curving her neck down so she could better focus on Aurora while she answered.  
"Becaaausse your dark king has many poooweerss, and dooesss not use thooossse of hissss element all the tiiimme. The Seelie prrrrincce is comfortable with hhhhiiiiisss pooowwweers, and they aaaarree hhhiiiss main gift, therefooore hiisss stay. It hhaasss been in the paaasst that thoosse who do not waaant, reject, or eeven ffeeaarr thheeirr gifftsss can loose them, and the maaarkingsss wwwiill not appear until thheeey accccept them."  
 _Fear them....._ She stared at the crystal while her mind raced.  
She shook her head to bring herself back to the conversation.  
"Right... okay... so yeah, accepting them and using them makes them show... but I still have to figure out who the others who hold the elements powers are, right? That's the only way I can do the ceremony, and get the artifacts back...."  
"Whaaaat did the book tteeell you?"  
"There isn't anything for 'how to get them back when they're stolen'.... but it says the chosen wielders can call their artifact to them, and I can help them. Kind of like when they're chosen, how the seventh person helps them call it in the first place. I think..... I think that even /he/ can't step between them when they call... that's what I think."  
The dragon nodded, and she looked up at the blue eye focused on her.  
"Then yooouuu shhould ffiiind all thhoosse who hhhold the potential to wwiieeld the artifactss. Whheen you fiiind them, bring thheem all hheere, and call thheeir artifacts hhoome. But yoouu sssshhould haaave everything ready to have the cccceremy as sssssoon as you arrre thrrough. Wiiitthh eeeveryone in plaaace togethherrr, wweee could deefeend the aaarrrtifacts from hhhim if he triesss to ccooome after them...  
Thhaat does not mean to wwaaait on ssseecuring the others... yoouu ssshould call the aarrrtifactss to thosssse who aaarre sssstill free.."  
Aurora nodded, thinking to herself as she listed off the ones she knew.  
"Tristan is water, Boreas is Earth, you're air.... I need shadow and light, right?"  
"Yoouu dooo... aaannd fffffiire. Thhaaat one will be difficult, ssssincce you cannot caaaalll it from hhhiiis hhhaaands to be ssssure of the weeiilder..."  
Aurora looked down at the crystal ball, lips pressed together.  
"I'll figure something out..."  
Actually, she would just drag Aedh out of his underground cave and make him show, but she couldn't tell that to Sareindiel. Nobody else had really believed her yet, except Boreas, and even he wouldn't admit it.  
"Okay, that's kind of settled... what about this crazy ass damned prophecy?!"  
The dragon looked surprised, wings flaring slightly as she snapped her gaze to Aurora questioningly. Behind her Aranduil began to snicker, and Sareindiel shot him a dark look, making him sputter off into a cough to hide it.  
"Whhaat do you mean?"  
"I'm in it!"  
"Yyeesss daughter, we aaaallll arrrre..."  
Aurora stared at her stonily, a muscle ticking under her eye.  
"You don't understand, this was made by merlin so long ago! How could I be in it?! _Why_ am I?! I don't understand how this can even work!!"  
"Brrreaaathe daughter, and caaalmmmm yooouurself, I wwwiiill tell yoouuu of the prophecy. After the desstructiivvve Fffir boohhhlg were run from thesse landss, Merlin went to the Gods for guidance. In exxccchhange for getting a glimpsse of the faaar future, much faartherr than his normal gifts of fooresssight would reach, he would ssserrve them. He did it sssoo thhhaat he could ssseee if more invaderrsss would come asss well, so that he could protect hhiisss people. He could now ssssee the thingsss coming, as well as the chhhoooicesss that led there. But only free will cooouuld dictate which paaath the person chose, and all he could do was ssssuffer the knowledge. Dessspite hisss attemptsss, he could not alwaysss avert disassster. The godss sent hhiiim to other wwwooorlds so he could hhheelp there, and thhaat began hiisss travels. It sseemed a llloonelly exisstenccce...."  
Aurora stared at the crystal ball in her lap, mind whirling.  
"So, he basically sold himself into eternal servitude to the gods to be able to see the far future, only to find out he couldn't change it alone? Man.... that... that does sound terribly lonely...having to get attached to a place and then leave at any time...I mean, it would be amazing, but.... yeah. As for the prophecy, it tells about all these giant decisions and big things that happen in history?"  
"Yessss. Until the chhhooice issss made, two posssible outcomesss will be ssshhown passst the decccciissssion."  
She finally looked up, meeting Sareindiel's gaze. Hmm...  
"Do you know any reason why I couldn't look at it?"  
The dragon seemed surprised again, but then she hesitated. Aurora's eyes sharpened, but she held her tongue.  
"I dooo not, but I caaaauution you, if it isss thheee neexxxxt big turrrning point in our hiisssstory that yoouu wisssh to sssssee, it isss not a prrrretty ssssight."  
Of course it wasn't. And why wasn't she surprised?  
".... I still want to see it, please."  
The dragon inclined her head, and as she pushed to her feet, Aranduil stood, making a rumble deep in his chest to get their attention.  
"Fffooorgiiiive my interrruptiiiionnn, but I muusssst return. I hhaaave sssstayed much longer than I intennnnded. I caaame only to waaaaarn you, Sareindiel."  
The golden dragon looked at him oddly, and Aurora stood, holding the crystal securely as she walked over.  
"Yoouuu mussst keep a cloosssse eye on yoouuurrr hhaaatchling. Thheeere hhaaavve been two eggs sssstolen from the nessssts in the ssssteeam caaavves. We do not yet knoooow hhhooow or whhyyy, sssoo I sssimply caaame to waaarn yoouu."  
Aurora turned back wide eyed to see Sareindiel's gaze soften as she dipped her head.  
"Thhaank you Aranduil..."  
"Where _is_ Mythrandiel!?"  
Aranduil looked surprised, but a plume of smoke erupted from Sareindiel as she snorted in amusement.  
"Hhheee hhhhunntsss with Zaltheim, learrrning somethingssss from the Phoenix."  
Aurora sighed in relief. "Oh, okay... I had wondered earlier when I didn't see him..."  
"Yoouuu will not recognizzzze hhhhim, hhhhatchlingsss grow quickly thisss early."  
She grinned happily at the mother, who seemed beyond proud of her baby, then turned back to Aranduil as she stopped by his foot.  
"I'm glad I got to see you again, Aranduil... if you're ever near here, you're welcome to stop and visit! I'm usually at the Seelie sithen, but its doesn't matter, Tristan likes dragons, and if anyone else thinks they have a problem with it they can fuck off."  
He blinked down at her in surprise before he raised his head and roared out a laugh, flames licking up his throat and out of his mouth to roll across the ceiling for a moment before he returned his amused expression to her, lips curled in a grin that was almost terrifying. Almost.  
"Thhaaank you. Althhouugh I do nnnooot thhhiink I hhaave hheeard thhaat before, I beelievve I understood. And it waasss a niiicce surprissse to ssssee you again and well chhiild. Perhhapss I sshall visssit you one day. Yoouuu sssshould come to my lair for a viissssit ssssomeday, annnnd sssee the sssteaamm caaavess, Sareindiel could ssshow you the way. I will trust your judgement, but be caareful whhooo you brrrrrinnnnng wiitthhh you."  
Her eyes went impossibly wide at the offer, and she nodded wildly, halfway startling Dainia on her shoulder.  
"Yeah! That would be so cool!"  
She looked back, and the golden dragon was nodding with her own smile.  
"Of courrssse. Now, coommmme yoouu old fossssil, yoouu mussst get back. I will ssssee yoouuu out. Daaauuughter, I will rrreturrrn mooommennnntarrrrily."  
Aurora nodded, hiding her snicker at the dragons banter toward the Elder, and watched them walking off down the tunnel for a moment before reaching up to pat Dainia's side again.  
"I kinda think she likes him..."  
The phoenix let out a delighted cackle before agreeing.

Mental note: _Next time a dragon tells you that something is gonna be bad, as in steel yourself for some dark shit, don't brush it off so lightly._  
Aurora was standing feet away from Sareindiel, who had led her along the corridor, following the sandy path that spilled along under the tapestry. Once her friend had lit the bright pits along the wall that served as torches to illuminate the scene, her stomach had dropped past her feet. She hadn't paid too much attention to the rest, too afraid to see herself somewhere in it, but now she stood before the part the dragon had called the next big historical thing, and it was kind of horrifying. Hell, she'd certainly known it had the potential to be, _but this?_ This was fucking terrifying.  
The firelight cast it all in a reddish glow, sending the shadows into deeper lines, but it made the blood stand out that much more.   
The fork in the road, so to speak, was the culmination of the quest she was currently on. There were other scenes that had happened already brought into stark clarity, showing things like the attempt on Tristan's life, the King's sickness, her being friends with the King and other Sidhe, and the calling of the guards powers. The turning point that began it all was after she arrived, the battle between her and Rosalyn. If she had lost, it was like the story would have been rewritten with her death, and the chances of the good guys winning had been zilch.   
It did not show her the identity of them, but it showed five figures in the ritual, all in shadows, surrounded by massive power that arced and churned, and the seventh in the middle, holding up the crystal ball. There were others there, and she could feel a sense of foreboding from some if them, like they were waiting for an opportunity to stop it. There was a scene of figures fighting, of fire sweeping across them all, and then the two outcomes.  
Those were what terrified her.  
First, it was wrong, there had to be six for the elements, but she didn't know which person was missing. Secondly, the first outcome if they should loose the battle against the evil that threatened the land, so said the flowing script across the bottom of the painting, was a shining time in the history of the people. Many things would be set right, the threat destroyed, and the land would be in harmony, as would its people. The painting was of the two Sithens, and both crowns, linked together amidst a thousand smiling faces, cheering crowds from both courts, filled with sidhe and magical creatures alike. She could hear the cheering, feel the peace that swept the land, almost see it playing out in her head. That was what they wanted, what she hoped they could accomplish.  
But the other one was what drew her eye continuously, staring in slow building horror. It was nothing but a river of blood, filled with shadowy figures of Sidhe, pieces of them strewn about with careless abandon on a butchered battlefield. Fire consumed everything, smoke and fog covered the land with death, and the destruction should have been unimaginable.  
It wasn't.  
She could hear that screeching music, the _wrongness_ of it, vibrating against her ears with the sound of a thousand pain filled screams of the dead and dying, and the triumphant, maniacal laughter ringing above it all. A commanding voice barked orders, and past the river were rows of Sidhe on bent knee, shackled together with chains, with the few magical creatures amidst them bound the same way. The picture swung to show a figure above the rest in shadow, the apparent cause of the destruction. On his brow sat a monstrosity that was the two true crowns of the Sidhe wielded together, and around him floated the seven elemental artifacts. At his side stood another figure, with a sparkling crown upon her head to match his, holding Merlin's crystal ball.  
 _No, no no that was wrong it couldn't be!_  
Aurora whipped her gaze back frantically, searching for some clue or sign to help sway the outcome in their favor, when she caught sight of something right before the grand battle. It was a fuzzy outline of a pool of water, and there at the edge a figure, superimposed to be doing two different things. It seemed like a choice to her, whether they would something or stand there, but what-  
The water suddenly churned, a pale hand reaching forth from the depths with a shaky desperation. Overhead lightening flashed, and rain poured down as she fought to hold the only light she could see by as she hit her knees. The flash illuminated the blood in the water like a fog, swirling around the body she couldn't quite see as the hand was wrenched back under. Where was everyone else? She needed them, _she couldn't loose him-_  
" _No-_ "  
She plunged her hand past the surface of the water, screaming as it poured over her flesh like acid, choking back the bile and panic in her throat as she just brushed his hand and pushed farther, fighting to reach him. She had to help him, had to save him, _she couldn't let him **DIE** -_  
Fire erupted in her vision in a white hot burst of light that seared over her skin, making her jerk back with a startled yelp. She fell back onto her rear, looking up with wide, unfocused eyes to see Dainia flapping her wings frantically, the light the fire spilling from her feathers and dripping onto the floor, her icy blue eyes glowing like sapphires and filled with panic. Behind her was Sareindiel's wing, stretched out and covering the painting of the prophecy from sight.  
"D-Dainia? Wh-what's - what're y'all doin??"  
Her feathers instantly dimmed and she landed at her feet, looking ruffled and out of breath.  
/What happened to you? Where were you? You were staring at the prophecy and then - no longer here, you would not respond to us!/  
She instantly felt bad for scaring her friends, looking up at Sareindiel as she spoke.  
"We waited, but when you did not answer... then you became upset, and began screaming-"  
"I wh-what?!"  
They both stared at her in shock, and she returned the look wide eyed.  
"I wasn't screaming! I was just looking at the prophecy trying to figure out some clue about what to do..."  
The two shared pointed looks, and Dainia shook her head.  
/No daughter, you were unaware like you were having a vision, and then you began screaming.. do you not remember??/  
She shook her head slowly, starting to shake as she stared at them. What had happened? What had she seen? And why couldn't she fucking remember?!  
"I think you have seen enough for this day daughter, perhaps it is time for you to return and rest...."  
She looked up at the dragon whose eyes had gone soft, and nodded as she pushed to her feet slowly.  
"Uhm... yeah, yeah that.... that's probably a good idea..."  
What _the hell_ had that been?  
She followed the dragon and pointedly did not look back toward the prophecy.

When she clambered down off the dragons back, after landing into the clearing, she straightened her dress and resettled the bag slung around her upper body. Sareindiel had retrieved a bag for her to carry the crystal in, saying she needed to keep it with her, and given it to her for that very purpose. It was beautiful, made of some cream colored silks and decorated with dazzling gemstones across the front. Still amazed at the beautiful thing, she thanked the dragon again as she touched it with reverent hands.   
"Thank you again Sareindiel, this is so very pretty...."  
The golden dragon hummed, seeming a little flustered at the attention, but responded nevertheless. Aurora couldn't stop thanking her, but it was kind of a big deal when a dragon gave you a piece of their own treasure as a gift.  
"Yooouuu arrre welllcome daughter.. sssshall I sssstay while you call the ssssshadow guardian?"  
She shook her head and smiled, watching the last sun dipping low on the horizon, mirroring the moon that rose behind the mountain peaks behind her.  
"No, I'll call him in a few minutes when the suns down, its easier then, but thank you. And don't forget to tell Mythrandiel I missed him! Him, Zaltheim, and Dainia can come back anytime, as can you!"  
"Thhaaank you, I will teeeell hhiiim, I am ssssure he will not paaasssss up an opportuuunnnity to teeerrrrorrizzzzze the Ssssseeelie court."  
Aurora laughed and nodded, stepping back as the dragon raised her wings.  
"That will be fun to see! I had fun talking today Sareindiel, thank you for everything!"  
The dragon inclined her head, giving her one last smile before she pushed off, mighty wings thundering through the air as she circled once overhead and turned back toward home. Aurora watched her until she couldn't see her anymore and turned toward the Seelie Sithen, arms around the bag she held tightly to her chest. She felt almost lonely without one of the phoenixes with her, but she'd known they would return to the forest and their home eventually. They would just have to come back and visit. She'd even carefully hugged Dainia before she'd left and told her so, making the Phoenix give her a happy agreement.  
For now though, she had somewhere to get to.  
She hurried on a bit faster, wanting to find the moonflower clearing before the sun fell too far.

 

\--

Sareindiel walked back into the main cavern, moving toward the fire in the center so she could lay down to rest for a bit before Mythrandiel returned. He was certainly full of spirit, and after the afternoon she had just had, she needed a few quiet moments. Plopping down on the warm sand she lay her chin across her forelegs, breathing out a sigh of relief.  
/Sareindiel...../  
Cracking open one eye at the voice, she focused on her tiny friend as the Phoenix rustled her feathers, turning slightly within the fire where she sat to look over.  
"Yyyeeeessss Dainia?"  
She seemed hesitant, heading cocking as she thought about her words, movements much faster and more abrupt than normal.  
/I.... I am worried for Aurora. Are you certain that allowing her to return on her own was wise? What if the Sidhe she believes is our fire lord is not the true one?/  
Sareindiel stared at the Phoenix for another moment, a curl of smoke drifting from her nose as she took a long breath.   
"Whhaaaat if hhheee isss?"  
/Yes I understand what it would mean but-/  
"I thhiiinnk wwwwiiith hhheeer newfound mmmagic sssshhee wwwiiill be able to tell."  
/And if it is not? If she sees through the lie? What if he attacks her?/  
"Hhaaave sssssome ffffaaaith my fffrrrriend-"  
/But she is half human! She cannot stand against a truly powerful Sidhe on her own!/  
"Sshhhe isss not alone, and sshhhe isss smaaarrrt. If ssshheee rrrrruns into trouble sshhhee cannot hhhhaaandle, ssshhheee will fffffiiind a way."  
The pheonix shook all over once before settling down again, still looking troubled but less so than before. Sareindiel closed her eye again, telling herself that all of them could not possibly be wrong when they all had so obviously put their faith in the girl. She had received the blessing of the god and goddess, surely that could count for something. It was obvious, she was truly the one chosen to light the way.  
And if she were to fail, then they were all doomed anyway.

\---

"Aha!"  
She scurried forward out of the trees, grinning brightly as she paused in the center of the small field of flowers, looking at the bulbs that swayed with soft hums of music. This was it, she knew it was! She looked directly across and saw the rock wall of the cliff's edge, this side of the mountain covered almost entirely by ivy. She let out a happy squeal and rushed forward, pressing her hands against the rock and sliding this way and that, looking for some sign of the opening. After several minutes of searching she stood back, hands on her hips as she glared at it. There was no sign, nothing.   
She hadn't imagined it damnit, there was no way. She knew it had been real.  
She held up both hands and pointed her palms at it, eyebrows furrowed in a dark scowl.  
"Open! ........ move! Twitch! Get the fuck out of the way! ...... open says me? .... come ON nothin?!"  
She stomped her feet and threw a tiny temper tantrum just to make herself feel better, then moved closer, smoothing down her hair with a huff. Okay, she was over it. Now, really. Come on.  
She laid her hands flat against the cool stone, closing her eyes as she reached for some strand of music, some thread to pull on, leaning forward to press her forehead against the rock as she sighed. A soft, barely there whisper of violins came through, and she reached for it gently as she could.  
" _Aperta..._ "  
As soon as she murmured the word there was a soft rumble of stone and she jerked back, looking excitedly as the rock seemed to split down the center, gliding apart as if on wheels. It only opened a small way, just enough for her to slide through sideways, and as soon as she was through it closed behind her. She stared at it a moment but turned before she could change her mind, looking down the seemingly endless tunnel lit by small patches of light along the pathway. She took a deep breath and started forward at an easy run, feeling something slithering under her skin like excitement, mixing with the nerves she had about returning when he'd kind of seemed like he hadn't wanted her to. But he'd seemed sad too, like he did at the same time.  
Well, she was going to find out damnit.   
She darted around the few stalactites and stalagmites she saw, feet almost silent as she continued through the dark. When she finally spotted the dull glow ahead, she slowed down to a walk, catching her breath and smoothing her hands over her skirt, stomach churning as the lights grew brighter.   
Stepping into the room from before, she wanted to shout in triumph, but held it in instead of acting silly. She'd knew she hadn't imagined it! The lights were somewhat dimmed though, and she wondered if he was home. He should be, right?   
"Aedh...."  
She paused, waiting for a response, and when she didn't hear one she tried again, raising her voice slightly but trying to keep her tone gentle.  
"Aedh.....?"  
There was a sudden thump, a crash, and hurried footsteps. In the middle doorway that had been pitch black, which she kind of remembered seeing a bedroom in now, appeared a wide eyed figure. He braced his hands on the doorframe, chest heaving, hair a wild, dark red mess around him, pale skin gleaming in the light.   
" _A-Aurora?!_ "  
She slapped a hand over her eyes, face flushing and whirled to put her back to him, stammering out a reply.  
"U-uhm hi Aedh!"  
She heard footsteps slapping over the floor, and she /really/ hoped he was throwing on some clothes. What was it with these guys for fucking real?! She had /not/ needed to know the man was a natural redhead. Which made her suddenly curious to see if Tristan's blue hair was-   
"Eeep!"  
She squeaked in alarm as she was suddenly spun around, back slammed against the wall, pinned by a heavy, hot body that was vibrating with dangerous threat. His metallic eyes were snapping sparks, the scent of heat around him thickening as he snarled at her, fangs glimmering in the light, one hand curled around her throat.  
How the fuck did she keep ending up like this? Was this some cosmic fucking joke?  
"What are you doing here woman? How did you return?! Why?"  
She forced a breath past her wildly thumping heart and met his gaze unflinchingly, despite the blush on her cheeks. She was going to go on the stuff she had heard from Boreas, her instincts toward him, and the fact that he hadn't just driven a blade in her back and be confident that he wouldn't really hurt her.  
"I came to talk to you. I need your help.... we all need your help."  
His brows furrowed, the pressure lessening slightly as he stared at her in confused shock.  
"What? With what? Why would you-"  
"With the Carminum Rituum."  
He stumbled back from her to stare at her a moment as if she were crazy before he let out a delirious laugh, scuffing his hands over his face as he shook his head.  
"Woman you are mad. If you know about the ritual you know what has happened with my brother, and you know who I am. You also know that even if we were to _somehow_ get the artifacts back from my elder brother and find the others, that we do not have Merlin! That scholar at the shining court cannot-"  
She shifted, pulled out the crystal ball, and held it up, nodding when his gaze fell on it and he stammered to a stunned halt.  
"No, but I can. I can do the ritual, I can get the artifacts back. If you'll listen, I'll explain everything I can, but you have to _promise_ to listen."  
He moved forward slowly, eyes filled with disbelief as he reached a tentative hand out. He glanced at her once as if for permission, and she held the crystal out a little farther, waiting. His hand curled into a shaking fist, but finally he reached again, ever so lightly laying his fingertips against the surface. All at once she heard a soft hum starting, his hair lifting slightly in a breeze as his eyes filled with flames. From his shoulders runes appeared as he called his magic, flowing down his arms in flickering swirls of red, orange, and yellow embers, burning against the pale lines of his skin. The crystal glimmered with fire as it reached his hand, resonating contentedly, and he seemed to slump with relief, metallic eyes brimming with tears. Her grip on the crystal tightened, and the lines of runes upon her arms suddenly flickered to life again, the ones written in fire to match his brighter than the rest, and he gasped in shock, gaze snapping up to hers. She held his stare, determination in her eyes, and finally, in a voice that had gone hoarse, he responded.  
" _I will listen..._ "


	20. Chapter 20

Aurora found her world spinning wildly as strong hands latched onto her upper arms and drug her across the room. She stumbled after him half blindly, clutching the ball tightly to her chest to keep from losing it. Surprise kept her from protesting as she was roughly pushed down onto the big chair feet away from the fire pit, unable to hide the wince or grunt as she hit. But she was dropping the crystal into her lap to slap her hands over her eyes, wildly trying to wheel in her brain as Aedh stood right in front of her.  
"Okay, I am listening."  
"Not like _that_ you're not!"  
There was a beat of confused silence, and with her eyes screwed firmly shut she waved a hand towards him.  
"G-go put s-some clothes on!"  
She was fairly certain she didn't imagine the amused snort from in front of her and she wiggled her fingers in the general direction she thought his room had been in. She didn't hear him moving away.  
"....A-Aedh?"  
Maybe she just hadn't heard him, he prowled like a cat after all. Just as she was about to relax, a decidedly high pitched squeak tore out of her throat as her legs were nudged apart, and his knee pressed into the seat. A hand settled beside her head, and something cool like silk slid over her legs and arms, following the creak of his weight shifting closer. It made her eyes snap open, and what she came face to face with was enough to make her brain fizzle into a useless pile of matter.  
"Am I not pleasing to look at?"  
His hair was shining, and apparently had been what she'd felt once it had slid over his shoulders and trailed over her, lit up with the fire she hadn't even noticed him light. Metallic eyes were fixed on hers, copper, gold, and ruby colors molten with heat, lips curved in a teasing smirk. She couldn't see anything but that face and wide shoulders beyond the fall of his hair, which she was grateful for at the moment.  
"Wh-what?"  
He tilted his head, looking down for a moment.  
"You told me to cover myself, that means I must not be pleasing to look at. You think I am-"  
She'd reached up before she meant to, slapping a hand, lightly, over his mouth to block his words.  
"That's not- ... ah..."  
She stuttered off as he raised his eyes, peering at her through his lashes, lips parting behind her hand. It should have tipped her off, really it should, but he grabbed her wrist in a gentle hold, keeping her hand steady so he could press a kiss against the center of her palm. From that point warmth spiraled out, making her breath hitch and the runes along her arm to brighten in a wave that followed it. Both their gazes followed the glow, and he looked intrigued.  
 _Shit._  
"Interesting...."  
His response rumbled through her, heart hammering as he scraped his teeth across the pad of her finger. She hissed out a curse as the runes glittered in response, and the rogue had the audacity to chuckle.  
"S-stop that damnit!"  
She jerked her hand back, glaring at him as he just grinned, a little sheepish, a little boyish charm.  
"Go p-put some clothes on! And y-you know damn well its b-because its too damn dist-tract....ing..."  
"If you command, my lady..."  
He was already walking away before she was through, throwing the words playfully over his shoulder with another smoldering look sent her way just before he disappeared into his chambers. She slapped both hands over her face and groaned in mortification. Rogues! Incorrigible, crazy, sexy, rogues!  
Minutes later he reappeared, and she let out a sigh of relief. He'd put on a pair of red harem pants like those Boreas wore, trimmed in gold, matching an open vest that hung long on his frame. She wondered if it was something unique to them, or a royal style.  
Whatever, it was much better than naked.   
Her head thumped back against the headrest, a relieved sigh slipping out as she closed her eyes for just a moment. Thank the gods, that was much better.   
She squeaked in surprise at a touch on her knees, snapping them right back open to look down and find out what - oh.  
The small burst of teasing from moments before had slipped away, replaced with a look that ached. Aedh had folded his knees underneath him, settling down in the floor in front of her, hands on her knees. He leaned forward against her legs, metallic eyes shimmering with some remembered pain, some haunted memory that had resurfaced. Her fault.  
"Aedh.... what's...?"  
His hands slid up, and she noticed how hot his skin was, running much warmer than even Tristan's did. Instead of pushing further she waited, letting him do what he was apparently needing to do without question. She'd thought he was going to touch the crystal, eyebrows raising in surprise when he reached past the ball to capture her hands. His were trembling slightly as he threaded his fingers with hers, completely ignoring the crystal in her lap, and held her gaze when he called his magic. The runes on his arms rippled to life, flowing down to his fingers and jumping over to hers to bring her own flaring brightly in a wave. Hands tightening against hers, he halfway wilted, eyes fluttering almost closed.  
Just as she opened her mouth to ask, she paused, remembering a conversation she'd had with Tristan. He'd remarked on the difference between Sidhe and her human culture, how touch was interpreted, how Sidhe craved the contact with others. He'd explained that being touch starved was actually a torture in the courts for those who had done wrong, that having another person's magic meet their own was comforting beyond just the touch as well.  
Maybe she hadn't understood as much as she'd thought she had. The thought that Aedh had been down here, more than likely without any company whatsoever, except perhaps for the few times he obviously went out in secret, made her hurt /for/ him.  
She pulled her hands from his carefully, earning her a surprised look, then one of understanding as he hid the flash of disappointment and leaned back. She ignored it for a moment, lifting the strap of her bag off and bending to put it in the floor beside them, making the pool of material like a nest. Then she levered up the crystal ball, setting it into the place she'd made, sure it wouldn't roll away, pretending not to notice how he watched her with curiosity. Then she smoothed her skirt out, looked up at him, and reached out.   
He went utterly still, unmoving as she touched his shoulders, slid her hands up his neck, brushed her thumbs over his jaw, threaded her fingers into his hair and tugged him forward. He seemed to finally catch on, and it was like she'd broken something. There was a red blur, and she hit the back of the seat again, but he had pressed between her knees, wrapped his arms around her waist, and buried his face against her stomach. A shudder rippled through him, and she just began running her hands through his hair, from his scalp down past his shoulders, letting the whisper of music that was fire slip from her fingertips. His breath hitched and his arms tightened around her in response, and she let out a soft sigh. The poor thing..  
With a gentle voice, she started her explanation, and tried to tell him as best she could what all was going on.   
What all he was missing.   
That there was hope.  
That his brother missed him.  
That they all needed him.  
When she was through, she fell silent, and continued the petting, letting him think, letting him decide. She waited several minutes for him to break the silence on his own.  
"It is like the heart of me is missing...."  
She went still for a heartbeat before relaxing again, surprised that he was finally talking making her react for just a moment, but she feared breaking the spell. His voice was the barest murmur against her skin, but she could hear him clearly, and she focused her attention on him.  
"Have you been told the story of what had happened to our family?"  
"....yea, Boreas told me a short version.."  
"Then I shall tell you mine.... you are the only person who will have heard it, so it is up to you whether you believe any of it or not..."  
He fell silent again, and she continued with her ministrations since they seemed to be helping him. When he took in a shuddering breath, she realized that this may be a lot worse than she thought.  
"It started after the birth of our nephew.... you are aware that by seeing him, it is fairly apparent what his powers are. It was only days later that I noticed a change in my eldest brothers demeanor. Over the next few months, he grew steadily more distant, nervous, even snappish towards the others, and slowly towards me. The first time Tristan showed an inkling of his powers, not long after his first birthday, we all realized how powerful he would be when he came of age. He left the celebration early, and being the curious brother I was, I followed him. He was throwing a temper tantrum with a rage I had never before seen in him. He was destroying everything in his home, his power running wild as he unleashed it with his fury.... I spoke to him, calmed him down, and he swore me to secrecy that everything was fine. He said he had merely gotten into an argument with father and was letting off some steam on his own..."  
He croaked out a dry laugh that made even her wince.  
"I should have went to the others but... I did not want to see. I believed him, took him at his word despite my suspicions and fears. Over the next few years he began this, 'search for knowledge', as he called it. He told us all he wanted to find out more about Merlin, his disappearance, his artifacts and the things we barely knew how to use. He had done nothing else suspicious, and I allowed myself to forget.... then when Tristan came of age, and Iridius proclaimed his powers were that of the ocean for certain, it seemed to crack something within Llyr. You see, although it had not been said, Tristan showed far more power than even Llyr had at such a young age, he was blessed by the gods, we could all see, and we all knew he would one day be the next guardian of water. It was unheard of though, for there to still be one living when another was proclaimed. It had happened to kings, when they outgrew their crowns, and no longer were worthy of them, but Llyr feared that when our nephew became a man, capable of his own powers, that he would take the title before Llyr had ever had a long run of being one of the most powerful Sidhe. He could not stand the thought of being replaced....   
"It was a few years later, once he had become so obsessed with his 'researching' that he barely came out anymore, that disaster struck. The Sidhe who was the guardian of night was killed. When Morrigan and I went to tell Llyr of what happened, he seemed surprised, and then saddened. He seemed so genuine about it, I felt bad for suspecting anything."  
She snapped her gaze down to him in surprise, but he missed the look as he continued the story.  
"Nothing ever came of the investigations, it was like he had simply had an accident. It was nearly unbelievable, but while rare, it can happen, so everyone finally brushed it off. There was no sign of suspicious activity, nothing that should lead anyone to continue to pursue it, except that his artifact never reappeared. We all assumed that the gods had simply not chosen one yet, but when the time for the ritual came again and we all showed, we were missing one.   
"You see, the ritual had been growing weaker for years. Every time we held it, the power raised was less and less. It was why none of us tried to pry Llyr out of his studies any harder, we hoped he would find some answer to our problem. But then when we could not even hold the ritual any longer, when the gods apparently saw no one fit to be the new guardian, we all despaired. It seemed to send my brother into a deeper fit of his blind obsession.  
"Then the guardian of light was poisoned.  
"There are few poisons potent enough to truly hurt a sidhe, even in great doses, but he had managed to become poisoned by our worst known toxin. He lasted only days before he faded.  
When even his artifact did not return, we all began to fear the gods had turned their backs on us. So many of our other artifacts were disappearing, and so many places in our lands were dying that had been sustained by nothing but the magic of the gods...   
" _We were such fools...._ "  
His voice cracked, and he wanted to tell him that he didn't have to continue, that it was okay, but she thought maybe he needed to get it off his chest. Even if she was already battling tears.  
"A few more tense years passed, and suddenly we all felt the death of two more Sidhe. I had been far out in the enchanted forest, and all of the others beat me home... I had known it was mother and father before I arrived. I realized something had happened, something terrible, when I arrived, and everyone treated /me/ differently. I did not understand at first, but as the days wore on, where the King's investigations continued, I realized they suspected me. It was obvious someone had slaughtered our parents, and since I was the only one not there..."  
"What the hell! How does that make you responsible?! What a load of shit!"  
He looked up at her in surprise and she flushed, but continued staring at him with her eyes blazing. He actually chuckled before he hung his head, shaking it once as the sound turned sad.  
"It was my own powers that made them so easily suspect me. I was not a bad child, but I am like the fire I control. I was always wild, and utterly passionate about everything I did. Simple squabbles became brawls, arguments became raging fights... if I disagreed with my parents, which happened almost everyday, we fought. Especially my father and I, he was... an almost cruel man, old enough to remember the wars, and he carried the prejudice, the old bloodlust in him. He was hard on us anyway because of our power but it always seemed like he was hardest on me. When we fought... mother would step in, but as I grew older, as the fights began to shake the walls of our home, they became real hand to hand brawls. I am sure my father regretted having taught me to fight so well... my brothers would step in eventually, every time, but there came the time when the two of us faced off alone. We nearly tore the house apart, but I won the battle...  
"The others did not understand that after that, father and I had settled things. He saw that I had become a man, controlling of my powers and temper... we were on even ground and he respected that.  
"It was weeks before they were killed, so all it had taken was one soft, almost innocent comment about the wild brother when their bodies were found to turn suspicion to me. I pleaded and begged them to understand, to believe me, that I would never have killed our parents! _NEVER!!!_ "  
The fire behind him roared higher as he shouted the word, his hands balling into fists against her back, tremors shaking him as he heaved in a breath. Her heart was breaking for this poor man, and she was afraid to hear the rest. She was afraid she would stomp straight out of here and go find Llyr right this moment and try to kick his ass.  
"They pretended to listen to pacify me, but the day came that Llyr finally snapped. He thought his plan had come to fruition. He spread rumors that I had confessed, so that everyone would look the other way while he made away with the last part of his plans.   
"You see, there is a children's tale about a child that walks through the forbidden woods at night in a red cloak, and she is scared by a large animal. But she tames it, befriends the wolf, using the powers she had. Except that her control was tenuous, and the animal she called to her hand was feral; a truly wild, very powerful creature that only played at being tamed. After a short time of friendship, she returned to the woods, and was torn apart by the wolf. It is a story told to our children to keep them wary of the reach of their powers until they are older.  
"Because of my temper, other children called me the big bad wolf when I was small, meaning that I only played at being tame, at being one of them. I outgrew the name, perhaps only because those who continued to call me by it were beaten, and they learned never to say it to my face. My brother Boreas was my biggest defender, and he was always at my side, he always had my back.  
"I heard the whispers of my guilt and went to Boreas, but he had been led in by the lies. He... he called me the big bad wolf, said it had all been a lie, all these years. I.... I ran. I did not know what else to do. If _he_ did not believe me, then who would? I could not stand the pain....  
"I finally ran into Llyr, and it was then that everything came together. He confessed to me that he had killed them all, he had spread the rumours, and he had been working on a spell to gather all of the artifacts so that he could be the most powerful Sidhe, that he would never have to bend his knee to some whelp that thought they were more powerful than he. I was so mad.... so _utterly furious_ , I-I could not believe he had done it, all of it, for - _for power!_ Our own parents, _dead, slaughtered_ , _for POWER!_ "  
She felt the wetness through her clothes as his shoulders shook with ragged sobs, and she pulled him closer. He clung to her with desperation, pouring out his grief in a storm of half words and sounds that broke her heart. All she could do was move forward and hold him against her, listening while he spoke and try to soothe him as she stroked his back and hair. She barely pieced together his words, but finally she did.  
"We fought, and I thought I had killed him. I left him there to die, to bleed out from the wound I had given him... but his words rang through my head, and even if my other siblings were still alive, I did not know that they ever wanted to see me again, and I knew they would not if they realized I had killed Llyr... I threw away the artifact, and I hid, here, deep underground. It was my penance, what I deserved for not figuring it out sooner, for not protecting my parents and the others... it was my fault for not stopping it sooner, for being a blind fool..."  
"You were not a blind fool, you were a brother..."  
He went still at her soft spoken words, obviously surprised, but he was listening, even if it was because he was going to try to refute her, he was listening.   
"When Llyr came after you, he had just been fighting with Boreas.... he had figured out the mistake, that he had blamed the wrong person, and he went to Morrigan to enlist her help to find you. What he found was Llyr in the process of killing both her and Tristan -"  
Aedh's head snapped up so fast she jerked in surprise, but blew out a breath and continued while she held his gaze.  
"-Boreas saved them, and Llyr ran. He apparently came across you, and that's when the two of you fought. Sometime during those battles is when he cast the spells to take your artifacts, I'll bet when he killed the other two guardians they were test runs so to speak, and whatever he did, it didn't work then. Either way, Boreas has long since realized his mistake, and regrets it terribly Aedh... he is sorry."  
The tears were blurring his metallic eyes again, and she pulled him into a another hug.  
"The thing is, he still has the artifacts. He's planning something big, to get them all, to get the true crowns, to get everyone out of his way. And he thinks I'm going to side with him and help. He's fucking crazy too..."  
Her lips twitched when he snorted in surprised laughter, and she continued.  
"We have to stop him Aedh, we can't let him win... and we need your help. All of us."  
He squeezed her tighter as if just thinking of it scared him.  
"I...I do not know if I can... I threw the artifact away, it may not return to me..."  
With gentle but insistent hand she lifted him so he would look at her, meeting that haunted gaze unflinchingly, even if the pain in his eyes was gut wrenching.  
"These runes say you're the the guardian of fire... and you are."  
He looked surprised, then his gaze shifted down, searching for them.  
"What runes?"  
She could feel her eye twitch, and she let out a slow breath of frustration, one that really wasn't aimed at him.   
"Apparently only I can see them, and some of the ah.. magic creatures, like Sareindiel and Dainia... but I can see them along your arms, and mine."  
His eyes widened as recognition clicked and he pulled back to turn his arm over and see, laying it alongside hers.   
"I see fire when my power is called, and it reflected upon you earlier... but I do not see runes in the glow. I.... I believe you though... I am surprised to say it, as well as find it true, but I do..."  
Her lips curved up in a blinding smile and she lurched forward, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug that nearly sent them both careening backwards. As it was he caught her in his lap, wind milling his arms until he steadied, then burst into laughter, returning the hug. She leaned back to look at him, absolutely beaming, and he seemed surprised, cheeks darkening slightly.  
"Good! Thank you thank you thank you! So, you'll come?! When its time for the ritual, you'll come?"  
He stared at her for just a moment before he sighed.  
"Yes, I shall - _oof!"_  
He grunted as she yelled out again, knocking into him with another enthusiastic hug that managed to carry them over backwards. His chuckle rumble through her as she sat up and looked down at him sheepishly.  
"Sorry Aedh I just - oh my GOD _your hair's on fire!!!!_ "  
He simply rolled his eyes up, tilting his head to see that his hair had sprawled partway into the fire pit behind them. Before she could manage more then her horrified yell he grabbed her arms to keep her still and roared with laughter until tears sprang into his eyes. She wilted and started to glower when she realized he was obviously unworried about it for whatever reason. She crossed her arms, trying to look intimidating while straddling his waist, but he just lay on his back and shook with laughter. When he finally stopped, she had already noticed his hair was glimmering, looking like the phoenix's feathers when she had stepped into the fire before.   
"It, ah, it sometimes does that... I am of the fire, remember...? It will not.... hurt... me...."   
He seemed to have suddenly realized that she looked pissed off, a dark scowl twisting her features as she stared down at him. He sputtered off and swallowed, looking all around for some clue as to what he could do.   
"So, uhm.... d-do the others know w-where you are? Will they not wor-"  
She let out a high pitched shriek of sudden fright, scrambling off him so fast that he yelped in surprise, pushing back as she stood and ran around the chair to grab the crystal ball and stuff it into the bag, eyes huge as she started talking.  
" _Shit! Shit shit shit!_ I've gotta go before they come looking for me Llyr can't suspect you're alive or I - I dunno he might try something - I just - I cant let him find out and I've got to go they'll be -"  
She slammed into him as she whirled, having just dropped the strap of the bag over her shoulder so it settled across her chest and down to her opposite hip.   
"Aurora, calm yourself."  
She looked up at the voice, breath hitching as he stared at her a moment until he was sure he had her attention. His expression gentled then, and he leaned down to wrap her in a hug. Ignoring her hurry, she returned it with a soft laugh, earning her a contented hum from him.   
"Sorry, I kind of freaked out there for a second, but I do have to get back, I kind of snuck away and they'll be freaking out soon if they aren't already..."  
When he straightened, he paused long enough to lean forward and press a kiss against her forehead, making her blush hotly.  
"Go then, but be safe in the dark of night, there are beasts that hunt in the shadows..."  
She smiled then, lifting her shoulder in a shrug.  
"That's okay, I'm friends with most of them."  
His look of surprise melted into one of amusement as he shook his head at her and chuckled.  
"Of course you are..."  
"Now, uhm... I'll come back soon and visit you when I can get away next time... and maybe we'll have more concrete plans about the ritual. I haven't even gotten back to tell the guys I have Merlin's crystal yet!"  
With another laugh he started shooing her towards the tunnel that led outside.  
"You must hurry then! They will be expecting you..."  
She stopped at the entrance, turning back to look at him, hesitating for just a moment.  
"Wait... can I.... can I bring Boreas next time? If I swear him to secrecy?"  
Aedh's face twisted with sadness, and she hurried to explain, laying her hands lightly against his chest as she shook her head.  
"Please Aedh, I promise you that it isn't how you think it is! He will want to see you!"  
He hesitated, but finally nodded once, and she hugged him tightly with a happy squeal.  
"Good! Good okay, yeah, uhm... how about in like, two days? Can I come back then? Will that be okay?"  
He finally laughed, and started pushing her toward the entrance.  
"Yes now hurry! Hurry!"  
With a final bright grin and delighted wave she turned and rushed down the dark tunnel, feet lighter than they had been before. Even with the horror of the story he'd told her echoing in her mind, she was too relieved and beyond ecstatic that he had agreed to help.  
They had their fire guardian now, only two more to go!

 

She made it out of the cave, past the moon flowers, back to the trail, and perhaps a mile down the road back toward the Sithen before she stopped to call Wraith.  
If they were suspicious and took note of where she was, well, she wasn't going to make it entirely easy for them. Plus, she wasn't going to just lie, if they asked she would tell them the truth, but she wasn't showing them where his home was. He hadn't told her that was okay.  
She shook off the thoughts and rolled her eyes, telling herself to focus so she could call the music. Without really thinking about it, she remembered the brush of music that had come from the horse Wraith had called earlier. The music had been soft at first, a curl of music like fog in the night, whispering through shadowed trees under filmy moonlight. It made her hum softly, letting the thread of sound float around her.  
After just a few seconds she dropped it, laughing softly at herself before she reached for the music that was Wraith's, letting it croon into the darkness around her. The shadows deepened, rustled with the sounds of leathery wings, feet scraping the ground, and she watched a few of the creatures halfway materialize in mostly solid forms. They were always more at night, more real and distinct, and she waved at them, opening her mouth to speak when she heard the ghostly clatter of hoofbeats. She turned towards them in surprise, wondering how he'd heard her so fast, she hadn't even sent the message yet. Perhaps he'd been close by after all, already looking for her.   
Then something tugged at her, with a cold that sent shivers dancing down her spine, and she snapped around to look. Beside her stood one of the creatures, this one surely three foot taller than her, pale back rounded in the moonlight, liquid black eyes fixed on her. Its mouth did not move while it shook its head, turning once to look in the same direction she had.  
"Wh-whats wrong? What is it?"  
She noticed another one step into a pool of darkness and disappear, half wondering where it was going, and turned as the beats grew louder, closer. She took half a step in that direction, sending a smile at the creature as she patted its gnarled hand.  
"Its alright its just Wraith - what?"  
She stopped, watching it curiously as it began to shake its head, its hand tightening in the material of her shirt, tugging insistently for her to step back with it towards the deeper shadows.   
"Is it... is it not Wraith??"  
When it nodded, still pulling at her, she followed it a few steps, glancing back hesitantly at the sound of the horse approaching. Why wouldn't it be Wraith? What if it was one of the others? But why would it think she needed to what, hide?  
"Are you trying to get me to hide?"  
This time the nod was a little frantic, its legs pushing as it nearly dragged her, making her stumble once as she tried to move after it. Real fear darted down her spine when the hoofbeats suddenly stopped, and they both turned. The horse had arrived, smoke pluming from its nose, sides heaving, bright emerald fire dancing in its eyes. But it was more skeleton than horse, the bleached white bones almost glowing in the moonlight, and its back was bare.  
There was no Wraith, and no reigns of fire holding the horse.   
It reared up on its back legs, obsidian hooves slicing the air as it brayed out a sound that grated harshly in her ears, and it told her the same thing its music did. The song that thrummed around it in the air, the call of a horn, the bay of wolves, the thundering pulse and fear that shivered down to a primal, age old instinct.  
It was hunting, and she was prey.  
Before she could think of anything better, she spun on her heel and began running as hard as she could. For a moment her legs buckled, but she stumbled once and took off, hearing the rip as the shadowed creature tried to retain its hold on her shoulder. Its fingers scratched her shoulder as the dress shredded, and crimson drops rained through the air. The horse let out a sound that made the hair on her neck stand on end as she glanced back once, and she couldn't help the terrified scream that tore from her throat, echoing into the night as it lowered its head and started after her.

Wraith stood by Boreas out at the stables, the shadowed horse a few feet away, munching contentedly on the grass while it mostly ignored them. They talked quietly, Wraith slowly getting over his initial hesitance around the King, even laughing at some things the other man said with his usual smile.  
"I tell you, I could spin you tales of debauchery that would make even you cringe.."  
Boreas's lip curved in a smirk, eyes flashing a challenge that had the younger warrior blushing a little despite his grin. He rubbed the back of his neck as he leaned against the stable wall, chuckling at the thought.  
"Ah, I doubt that... I may not be quite the rogue my captain is as your protege, but I have had my own adventures..."  
It came out more defensive than he'd meant, and he turned his gaze to the horse, avoiding the kings gaze. His attention snapped back however, when Boreas shifted a step closer, one hand coming up to pluck at a strand of Wraith's hair, twirling it around his finger with a mischievous smile that made his stomach tighten.   
"I believe that... _but I would bet that I could make you forget your own name for a time..._ "  
Wraith swallowed, locking eyes with the UnSeelie who stepped right up into his space, one of those hands curling against his hip, nails dragging across his skin and earning a soft hiss from him. Chills shot down his spine as that metallic gaze turned molten, locked on him as he murmured something else that made his breath catch.  
" _...you would remember mine, after you moaned it enough..._ "  
" _B-Boreas -_ "  
They both looked around at a burst of noise, staring in surprise when his handle clattered to the ground, and the horse took off like a shot. They shared a curious look, and once he bent down to retrieve it, he looked back at the king, half sheepish.  
"I suppose my.. ah... attention slipped..."  
The king chuckled, eyes turning to the side past him to narrow on something. Wraith turned, surprised once more to find one of the creatures of shadow rushing out of the dark. It came right to him, making him flinch slightly like it always had, but instead of its normal behaviour it grabbed his arm in a steely grip.  
"What - what are - _hey!_ "  
It was pulling, pointing with one arm, its gestures frantic as it steadily moved him forward, and he glanced back at the King for some clue. He looked just as clueless, moving forward to stand by Wraith, and they both were startled at the fact that the creature didn't bow to the king like they all had before. They always did that.  
"What do you -"  
He was interrupted by a scream of terror that erupted through the night, bringing both of them whipping around to face the road that led towards the enchanted woods. As one they both whispered the name, and fear crawled down Wraith's spine.  
"Aurora!"  
Boreas grabbed his arm, catching his attention for a split second.   
"You go after her, I'll get the others!!"  
Before he could protest the King was bolting off, moving in a blur as he shot towards the Sithen, and Wraith was jerked halfway over by the creature still tugging at him, almost in a full blown panic.   
That's what it had been trying to tell him!  
He grabbed its wrist and it paused, looking at him as he snarled and called his power, not going to let his fear keep him from doing something.  
"Take me to her NOW!!"  
He was jerked into the shadow world instantly, but even while his nerves screamed at him, he was used to the stomach flipping terrors there by now, and they dashed through the second plain as fast as he could while he prayed to the gods.  
 _Do not let me be too late!_

It was toying with her, she knew the damned thing was toying with her!  
The sound of its hooves would get so close she would swear they wear about to mow her down, the heat of its breath blowing across her back as she ran blindly, curling down her neck and sending plumes of smoke whirling around her. Desperate to keep from getting trampled she threw herself sideways, rolling with one arm around her head and the other around the bag at her waist, coming to a crashing halt as she hit something much more solid than her. What little breath she had lurched out, and she rolled painfully off the crystal ball digging into her sternum, coughing as she tried to force air into her aching lungs. Her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it pulsing through her body, blood rushing in her ears, and her right arm was slick with crimson that had followed the scratches the other creature had given her by accident earlier. At least she thought it was an accident.   
When she heard the hooves returning, she scrambled down and around the tree that had stopped her roll, knees and hip protesting, still heaving for breath while she tried to hide. She was cowering under the brush, halfway behind the tree, trying to be as still as possible, trying not to move in the darkness as it slowed to a walk and sniffed at the air, searching for her. It didn't immediately jump at her, and she thought maybe it hadn't seen her, maybe she was -  
The bush crumbled underneath it as it leapt over, landing in front of her and leaning on its front legs to mule kick at her. She shrieked and ducked, only lucky that it was so damned big its hooves hit the tree on either side of her head just a little too high. Bark exploded around her with a boom of sound, splinters and hunks of woods raining down on her as it pulled back and spun to see her. She was already scrambling up, nearly falling, yelping in pain as she was brought up short, yanking forcefully at her hair that was tangled in the mangled trunk of the tree. When it ripped free she was moving instantly, darting around trees and brush, getting slapped by branches and leaves as she ran, bursting back out into the road again as it thundered along behind her, crashing through the brush with ease. She looked both ways, cursing herself and her failed sense of direction. She didn't need back on the road, she needed in the woods! She couldn't outrun it on flat open ground!   
She whirled around, intent on practically diving back into the woods, and came nearly face to face with it. It trotted out pretty as you please, tossing its head and snorting, the flames of its eyes focused entirely on her. This was it, she was so screwed. At least let it take her out quickly, because she didn't want to lay there and bleed out slowly, oh gods-  
" _Halt!!_ "  
She snapped around the same time as the horse, wide eyed at the half disembodied voice. Then the shadows gathered, parting down the center to reveal a figure coming out, followed by one of the creatures from earlier. His grey skin was flushed with temper, little bursts of static snapping in the air around him as he shifted his feet apart, hair curling on a wind she couldn't feel. Those yellow eyes were narrowed on the animal in front of her in slits of fury, music pulsing harshly around him like a black fog as he held up his hand and pointed at the horse.  
"Stand down, she is not prey for your hunt! She has done no wrong!"  
The animal tossed its head with a high pitched whinny, scuffing its hoof against the ground as it looked back at her and blew out another plume of smoke. She took a step back involuntarily, terror shaking her spine as she saw her own end in that horses eyes. Despite her relief that he had arrived, she couldn't shake the fear, and she didn't know why, she had full confidence in Wraith!  
When the animal reared, pawed at the air and landed, muscles bunching as it prepared to leap, another scream lodged in her throat, coming out a strangled sound of horror. There was a snarl from Wraith and he moved, slinging one arm out like he held something. She heard a loud crack, and gasped when the horse flinched back with an angry bleat of sound of him. He still held his arm up, the handle glittering in his grasp, a line of emerald fire snaking out of it to coil on the ground at his side. The animal turned to him and his face darkened in response, wrist flicking almost causally, and it brought the handle around, circling the line like a whip through the air, giving another crack of sound like a warning.  
"You will obey my commands!"  
Around her there was the rustling of sounds, restless figures circling them and watching, eyes haunted pits in their faces, bodies contorted as they shuffled or slithered along. It made her shudder, because these were different, these didn't look like the others, they didn't seem to have a life to them. They seemed like they were waiting, on a victor, for someone to win, or to perish. She snapped back as the horse gave another blare of sound before charging at him. She shrieked out a warning, trembling and terrified because he wasn't moving, he wasn't getting out of the way, he was digging in his feet and bracing for it -  
" _Wraith!!_ "  
He brought the handle down and curled the rope around his other hand, snapping it taut with a look of nothing but controlled fury on his face. He made a loop of one end and stepped to the side as the horse thundered past, whipping it out with a pop. It settled over the beasts head and slid down to its neck when he yanked, tightening and bringing it to a screeching halt. It stumbled slightly and righted itself with a bellow of rage, turning to rush at him again. She watched in horrified wonder as he continued to provoke it several times, letting it run just past him, snapping the noose with a flick of his hand and bringing it back around. When it turned at last, staring at him with wild eyes, sides heaving, he met it glare for glare.  
"Are you finished?"  
It charged him a final time, and he did not move. She gasped as they collided, his hands coming up to loop around the flames of the rope and pull it, arms straining to hold it at bay as it slammed its forehead into his. They locked that way, feet sliding, hooves pushing as it tried to win, as the flames burned brighter in his hands and he snarled. Wind whipped through the clearing, and the music of the shadows gathered around them, swirling like fog over the ground. Something danced up her arms, cool like creeping mist, snaking its way over her skin. She looked down to find the black runes on her arms glimmering in the shadows like moonlight piercing the veil of clouds. She looked back up, and knew then, without a doubt as Sareindiel's words rang in her head.  
 _"It hhaasss been in the paaasst that thoosse who do not waaant, reject, or eeven ffeeaarr thheeirr gifftsss can loose them, and the maaarkingsss wwwiill not appear until thheeey accccept them..."_  
Wraith suddenly took a step, pushing back the animal that clawed desperately at the ground, and she realized it wasn't with his physical strength, the horse was three times his size; it was with his magic.  
 _He was no longer afraid._  
She watched as the same marking from her arms wrote themselves into existence on his, swirling around his trembling muscles, snaking up to his shoulders and disappearing. There was one split second of wavering on the beasts part, and that was all it took. He hurled the rope sideways and the creature went flying, slamming into the ground, skidding until it hit a tree and stopped. It lay still for several moments, catching its breath as he loosened the rope, and she walked over on silent feet, pulling the bag around to her front, hands sliding inside to grip the crystal.  
He pointed at it, the rope slithering across the ground with a hiss as the horse moved around until it paused on folded legs, watching him with its ear perked. All the other creatures around them had stopped too, and she noticed behind the new ones were those she knew, all watching.  
"You will obey me."  
His rumble was soft but deadly, cutting through the night like a knife. The animal pushed to its feet unsteadily, then it lowered its head, bowing. Wraith looked surprised, glancing around, his gaze coming to rest on her as she held up the crystal. It hummed in her hands as he turned to face her, shock making him stare wide eyed at her as his lips parted, but he did not know what to say. She did as something hot and cold snaked down her spine, but when she opened her mouth, it was not her voice that spoke. It was the whispers she always heard, that of a thousand tones in two voices, chiming from somewhere deep within her as power melted through her, seeped out of her very pores.  
" _Guardian of Shadows_ , you no longer fear your power of the night. We are proud of you child.... now, take your symbol of power. and step up to your destiny.."  
The runes on her arms flared to blinding life, shadows swirling within the crystal as it picked up the music and began a steady hum that was rising in pitch. Wraith reached out with shaking hands, and his fingertips disappeared into the crystal. She watched him swallow with the slightest trepidation before he squared his shoulders, and pushed both his hands inside. He stiffened and clenched his teeth, and she knew by the way the hum suddenly synced with him, his music thundering with power like it only had once before when she had unknowingly unlocked it.   
Then he stepped back, lightening arcing around them in the night as he held up the thing he had pulled from within Merlin's crystal. It glimmered in the light, polished obsidian in three circles, the runes dancing inside the first one around the rim, the next several circles that showed each phase of the moon, made of half black crystal and half shining pearls, and the center a shape like the north star, made of a faceted prism, reflecting the colors of the night back through the depths.   
He stared in awe, and she felt the power ebbing away, coming back to herself as she began to shake with relief, gratitude, happiness, and a little exhaustion. Around them all of the creatures had dropped to one knee, and they could see beyond the circle of figures were their friends, standing in front of the horses they had arrived upon. She hadn't heard them when they came up but she was glad they had seen it. Wraith was still staring at the artifact with a look of disbelief, and she dropped the crystal back into her bag, sending him a bright, tender smile as he looked at her and she saw the tears swimming in his eyes.  
"Thank you..."  
"I... I knew you could do it Wraith..."  
Around them the creatures began to fade since the magic was through, except for the horse. It clopped over slowly, head down as it watched them, ears flicking as it neared. Once more it folded its front legs and made a bow before standing again, and Wraith reached out to pat its nose with a soft murmur.  
Then he turned her her and swooped forward, wrapping her in a crushing hug as footsteps echoed closer. When he stepped back, the others were surrounding them with relieved smiles and happy words, patting both of them on the back and congratulating Wraith. Tristan slipped an arm around her waist, tucking her gently against his side as she swayed on her feet.  
"You see? I cannot leave you alone for five minutes..."  
She glanced up at his teasing grin, but still saw the worry behind his eyes. Her own were drooping as her body protested, suddenly reminding her of the aches and bruises from her earlier flight.  
"Yeah yeah, s'okay, m'fine.... hey, does this need stitches?"  
She turned so he could see her shoulder and the four gashes, the blood caked over her arm, and he cursed fluently as he took hold of her to steady her and look.  
"Damn, reckless, stubborn, - _ugh, Iridius!_ "  
She snickered a little, she couldn't help it, and watched as the scholar pushed through the others to see about her. Aw she was alright, it wasn't that bad.

After returning to the Sithen, they had all gathered in Tristan's room for her to explain everything. And she had.  
Except for the part about visiting Aedh. That was her secret for now.  
Once they had all began talking about the new answers, they hadn't seemed to be able to shut up. She had eventually fallen asleep against Tristan's shoulder, dozing off with the familiar hum of their voices a comfort around her.   
When she woke the next morning, still in the same dress, it was to Tristan leaving at the asscrack of dawn again. He simply shushed her back to sleep, stroking a gentle hand through her hair that had made her lean into the touch and purr while half asleep, and had amused him to no end. He'd told her he would find her around lunch if not before, and left, and she quickly fell back to sleep.

Upon waking up, she was warm and comfy, yawning for about thirty seconds before she moved to stretch. When she did she nearly leapt out of her own skin, shooting to her feet with a yelp of disgust as she looked own at herself, half expecting to see a black layer of sludge, because that's what she felt like. She shuddered and hurried towards the bathing room, stripping down quickly. Ugh, she couldn't _stand_ going to bed without a shower, yuck!  
After her thorough scrubbing and drying, she pulled on a knee length teal dress because it was already getting warm outside, the heat radiating through her window warming the carpet under her feet. She hummed to herself, setting the crystal safely on her bed, and returned to the other room to pick up the dirty dress. She wasn't leaving it in the floor, maid or no maid.  
When she lifted it and snapped it out, something tumbled out, hitting the floor with a dull thunk and rolling away. She quickly dropped the dress into the basket, getting down to figure out what it had been. Her eyes landed on the object and she snatched it up, shining it on the skirt of her dress and peering at it curiously.  
It was the apple that had fallen from that tree yesterday...  
Hadn't there been something they had told her when they'd dropped it into her hands? She thumped it against her forehead gently, trying to stir the memory, and when it did, she gasped.  
"Oh shit! T-the apple! And - I've gotta - oh oh -"  
She danced in place for a moment, foot to foot as she tried to figure out what to do. Finally she rushed out of her room, bare feet slipping on the floor as she loped through the hallways of the sithen, clutching the apple to her chest. Darting around several walking nobles earned narrowed or wide eyed looks from them as she exclaimed a hurried 'excuse me' to them, but she ignored them. One of the doors ahead of her began opening, and out stepped Neit, proceeding the UnSeelie King. She wheeled to a quick stop, skidding slightly, half out of breath as Neit looked at her closely. When he recognized her and realized she was no threat he stepped aside, and Boreas focused on her with curious eyes.  
"What are you -"  
She grabbed his wrist and pulled, starting to take off. Instead of pulling he cut off and followed, waiting for her to answer as Neit sighed and fell into a thumping step behind them.  
"Have you seen Tristan?"  
"Ah - he was, going to see his father I believe? Whatever is the matter with-"  
"Good! That's where we're going! See I got this thing yesterday-"  
"Thing?"  
"-yeah! And it came from the tree and they told me it could help -"  
"They?"  
"The whispers! Something about purifying the tainted blood or something I dunno but they said it would work! So we gotta try it!"  
"I still do not understand but I will help how I can..."  
She huffed a laugh as they slid to a stop in front of the door, whipping their gazes around to see Tristan standing there opening it. He stopped, gaze going wide, then curious, and he tilted his head at them questioningly.  
"Uncle... Aurora... ? What is-"  
"Here I've got the thing I gotta fix it!"  
She finally dropped Boreas, who just shrugged at his nephew, the three returning inside behind her as she squeezed past the prince. Stratos, Wraith, Sine, and Iridius turned to her with matching looks, and she rushed over to the bedside table by the King's unconscious body.  
"Stratos give me your dagger please!"  
He shrugged and flipped one out, laying it carefully in her palm. She sent him a smile as she took the stool by the kings bed, settling into it as she picked up the basket with all the tools she'd used before inside. Quickly cutting the apple in half, she peeled the outside and took out the seeds with deft hands. Tristan stepped up behind her, his body a strong line of warmth at her back as he leaned slightly against her, a hand on her shoulder as he looked at what she was doing. When she dropped the little chunks of apple into the mortar bowl, starting to grind it up, he finally spoke, looking oddly at the other half of the apple on the table. She was saving that for later.  
"What exactly has possessed you flower? Whatever are you doing?"  
She worked for another moment, making the apple into nothing but mush carefully. If it wasn't completely liquid it could choke him.  
"Fixing it. Helping! They told me to yesterday and with everything that happened, well, I kind of forgot, I'm sorry - but its okay I got it now!"  
She leaned back against him slightly, turning to beam at him, and he tentatively returned the smile, obviously still unsure about what she was doing. He gave her a nod though, as she stood and bustled over to the bedside, and he shared a dubious look with the others, who gathered around to see.   
But none of them stopped her, not one made her stop and explain more, they just trusted her.  
The king rested still on his back, frowning in his sleep, or in his unconscious state really, restless and fitful even now, and she climbed up onto the bed. She mumbled to Iridius, having him hold the bowl while she moved until she could sit the king up slightly, leaning his shoulders against her bent knees, and his head against the crook of her arm. She carefully shifted his head and kept a good hold of him, bending her arm until it was right and taking the bowl back from Iridius. Tristan was starting to look a little nervous, but she sent him a beautific smile, humming softly when the voices whispered through her head in a surge of familiar warmth and reassurance. Then she used her arm she had supporting the kings head to hold the bowl to his lips, and put her other hand on his jaw to open his mouth. He did so easily, almost relaxing, and she knew it was more the touch of the gods than her. The others started to sputter, surprised and wary when she began slowly tipping the liquid into his mouth, tilting back his head and stroking his throat to get him to swallow. It took him a few gasping breaths, but after a moment he began to work with her and she let out a relieved breath, carefully giving him a little at a time. The others were still watching, waiting on something, and she was too. The king had only woken once since she'd done her own magic and it had been several days, they were all starting to wonder if he would get better. She thought he would now.   
Just as she wondered if she should be stopping, afraid of giving him too much, she got her answer. A touch on her wrist made her start in surprise, and the others made sounds of shock. She looked down to see the King's hand moving slowly, but relatively steadily, coming up to grab her arm. She stopped rubbing his throat then, letting him take over, giving him smaller swallows now. But he was doing it himself, and when he finished the bowl, she set it down, watching with held breath as he stirred. His eyes fluttered, and after a breathy groan he opened them, bleary eyes moving around until he focused on her, then they slid past her and onto the others, stopping to rest on Tristan. His voice came out raspy, croaked a little, but it had the undertone of warmth to it, the fire that belonged to the king.  
"Ahh... my son... what troubles have you... gotten yourself into...now?"  
Tristan's laugh was watery around the edges as he took his fathers hand, shaking his head and smiling so wide it hurt to see it. But by god she would do anything to keep that smile on his face, he looked so happy, so relieved. She was so glad this had worked.  
"There is no trouble now father... we were simply all worried for you."  
The King huffed in amusement, and despite her position she kept still, not wanting to interrupt.  
"I am... too stubborn, to be... taken down by sickness... just need to... rest a bit more..."  
"Of course father, rest then... and get well. We will watch over you.."  
Aurii's smile was soft at the edges as his eyes started to close, but he snorted, squeezing his sons hand.  
"Aye... and tell your.... mother those... curtains are still... ugly."  
Tristan barked a surprised laugh, and as the King's breathing eased out to an even rhythm, she gently scooted out from him. When she slipped down off the bed Tristan wrapped her in a hug so tight and sudden that she wheezed a breath, trying to return the hug and still breathe.   
"E-easy darlin, gotta breath.."  
He loosened his hold and rumbled a self conscious laugh, burying his face in her neck.   
"I think I shall never figure out ways to repay you for the things you do flower..."  
She laughed and shook her head, grinning brightly at the others over his shoulder while they started talking, even Boreas looking relieved and smiling. Iridius straightened up from where he had leaned over the kings body, gently testing the health of the king with his magic, and sent her a proud nod.  
"His health is a great deal better, we thought he simply needed time to heal... either way, he is truly only sleeping now, and should be fully better soon."  
Tristan laughed again, and it sounded as watery as before, his hands tightening where they held her once more. She nodded at the scholar and stroked a hand through the princes hair, trying to appear as if she were keeping him in the hug. She wouldn't point out the dampness she could feel against her throat, and the relived tremors running under his skin to the others, she would just hold him until he was okay.

After they all tiptoed out of the King's room, Tristan took her hand and they all went to find his mother to tell her the news. She was relieved, crying as she hugged Tristan, and then even hugged her. Highly surprised, she tentatively returned the hug, and then the Queen was rushing off to see about her husband herself. Couldn't blame her, she supposed.  
They had of course left out the part about the apple she'd received from the tree, and that -entire- storie, because they didn't think the queen needed to know about it. She agreed.  
Tristan then took them all to lunch a little early, and she felt, with the way he was acting, that he didn't want her to leave his side just yet. His touches kept lingering on her arms or shoulders, and his gaze was still full of a gratitude she didn't quite feel like she deserved. She thought it had been all the gods doing, and she was just kind of the medium, and upon having that thought they shushed her. There was something so real about it, such a parental reaction that she was genuinely sheepish for a few minutes because they told her to stop doubting her own worth. When Tristan asked if everything was okay, she nodded and pushed the thoughts away for a while.  
Of course, not long after, the conversation turned back to the ritual and what plans they wanted to make around it.  
Her response was basically to tell her when and where to show up and just drag her along.  
"Where? Did Sareindiel not show you the ritual chambers after showing you the prophecy's mural?"  
She turned to Iridius at his question, still halfway leaning against Tristan's side, and shook her head.  
"No... after ah... the freakout she decided I had seen enough and we wet back to her cave before we came back."  
Boreas spoke up with a small frown, and she glanced at him.  
"What, 'freakout'?"  
"I told you guys! About seeing the end of the prophecy and blanking out, they said they thought I was having until I started screaming and they snapped me out of it but - ...... ah.... d-did I forget to mention that last night...?"  
She swallowed as they all began staring at her darkly, and she started stammering.  
"I thought I did m'sorry geez come on! I ah... when I saw it, I dunno, I mean, I don't remember! Sareindiel and Dainia just said I got quiet, and 'wasn't there' as they said, and then... then I started screaming...."  
She looked down and shuddered, unsure of why, sighing softly when Tristan started rubbing her back reassuringly with one hand.  
"So they snapped me out of it, and I never realized I had done anything... it was like a blink, but there's time missing there.... I just... don't know what it was."  
Iridius's gaze had sharpened, and he was staring at her intently, making her fidget, but when he asked a question, she responded as truthfully as possible.  
"Did you say anything? Did they tell you what you said?"  
She swallowed past the lump in her throat and answered.  
"S-something like... ah... like I was calling for someone, I think I said 'guys', which is usually y'all... uhm... for help... because..."  
Another tremor ran down her spine, the edges of her reality fogging, becoming hazy. She reached out, grabbing Tristan's free hand, and laced their fingers together. Her voice dropped to a hoarse whisper, but she wasn't aware she was talking. She was seeing it again, playing over in her mind, flashes, bits and pieces of horror, surrounded by darkness.  
"There's no light... only mine, its barely working... I can't hold the magic, too panicked... the edge of rock... a big pool of water... lightening flashes, and I see the blood in the water... around a body, and a hand... reaching for me, for help... I try but..the waters like acid, eating away at me when I reach for him, and I scream, for help, for anyone, because I can't catch him, its pulling him down, and he's going _tO DIE IF I DON'T_ -"  
She's cut off by a hand, Tristan, she recognizes his scent as he holds her against his shoulder. She realizes she's crying, shaking with adrenaline, terror and agony pounding through her bloodstream like it had really been happening, and she knows then.  
 _She knows._   
Its an omen, a vision of something, someone she's going to have to save. Someone whose life will be in her hands.  
Tristan pulls her back enough to see her face, swipe gentle hands over her cheeks to clean away the tears, press a kiss to her forehead and murmur soothingly to her. As she stared up into those ocean colored eyes, she had one thought.  
Please don't let it be him.  
When the voices are silent, she wraps her arms around him in a fierce hug, and shakes her head. He doesn't understand why, but he hugs her anyway, continuing with the rumble of his voice, reassuring her. She's not telling them no though, her message is for the voices listening. Her message is loud and clear in her head.  
 _If it is him, I will save him. I will._  
This time, they fill her with a quiet strength, a soft breath of confidence, and at the same time she feels just a little fear. She pretty much has her answer, but then, they also have theirs.

Not too much later in the afternoon, she was left to her own devices, yet again.   
"Gaaaaaaah!"  
Everything had been better by the time they all returned to their daily activities though, and she had all but forgotten her small meltdown earlier. She was feeling better anyway. But now, well, she was bored.  
She kicked her legs and whined, huffing as she fell still, feet hanging into open air from her perch on her windowsill. Boredom was really shitty, and it always got her into some kind of trouble. She couldn't just sit here the rest of the day!  
A noise startled her out of her thoughts, and with a flicker of attention she could hear Sine's music moving around in the next room. In Tristan's room.  
What was he doing? Maybe he could give her an idea of something to do!!!   
She wrapped her hands around the windowsill and spun around, at the last moment remembering the flowers sharing the sill with her hanging from their basket that Belanus had made for her. She kicked her feet up to miss them, scrabbling to hang on as she teetered precariously for a second. Her fingers scraped across the wood as she squeaked and fell through, landing on her hip on the carpeted floor of her room. Letting out a sigh of relief she pushed to her feet shakily, dusting off her skirt while she muttered obscenities.   
She hissed and recoiled when her hand caught on her dress, glaring at the knee length piece of teal fabric resentfully. She turned and moved it, feeling around for what had pricked her, but upon finding nothing she gave up and turned, stomping over to her door to reach out and grab the knob. When she did, she gave a yelp as a throb of pain shot across her same hand when she touched it. Yanking back her hand, she held her wrist and tilted her hand, looking for some mark or -  
" _Ah! Ah ah ah ah!_ "  
She slapped open the door with a gasp of horror, seeing Sine whirling at the far door with a surprised expression, gold and green eyes looking at her and behind her for trouble. He settled the cloak over his shoulder, turning to meet her with a confused frown as she stopped in front of him, dancing from foot to foot and whining as she held her hand.  
" _Help me help me help me Sine! Fix it! Fix it fix it-_ "  
"What my lady what is wrong!?"  
He held up both hands, reaching for her as she wailed piteously, eyes brimming with tears and lip trembling. She whipped her hand up to stop at the end of his nose so he could see, hiccuping as he took her wrist and moved her back a few inches so he could focus.  
"What is.... this?!"  
He lowered her hand to look at her incredulously, and she nodded wildly, still bouncing in place while she shuddered.  
"Ohmygod use your magic and fix it! Please fix it fix it fix it!!!"  
His gaze switched from her to the splinter she had managed to saw into her hand, surely from her tumble off the windowsill, and back.  
"Ah... o-kay, here..."  
He cradled her hand, frowning at the offending piece of wood as he reached up, turning her hand to see how bad it was as she whimpered and chewed in the knuckles of her other hand.   
_It was to the bone! The BONE!_  
Why did she have to get a SPLINTER from damned fairy wood! That shit was at least an inch long, and sticking out of her hand, with a tiny spring of blood finally starting to well up.  
"Hold still, and I will -"  
His hand brushed the palm of her hand near the splinter and she shrieked, jerking away from him so fast he was left blinking at her in stunned confusion. She held her hand to her chest protectively, snarling at him.  
" _WHAT are you doing?! Don't TOUCH it! It HURTS!_ "  
His jaw dropped as he gaped at her, and he threw up his hands.  
"Well how else shall I 'fix it'! It must be taken out lest it grow worse, and then it can be healed! You cannot heal it with the splinter still in the skin."  
"Yeah but you gotta - disappear it first! You can't just pull it out!"  
"Disappear it - what? You have to remove the splinter first! It cannot be 'disappeared'!"  
"No! Then it'll just stay there till it comes out in its own!"  
He pinched the bridge of his nose with a long suffering sigh, sending her a look full of exasperation.  
"My lady -"  
"No!"  
"I cannot let you-"  
" _No!_ "  
"-go around hurt -"  
" _No!_ "  
"-no matter how small, the Prince will -"  
" _No! No no no no no! No!_ "  
He fell silent, closing his eyes and tipping his head back as if praying for patience, before he looked at her again, trying one last time.  
"My lady I assure you it will not hurt and -"  
"NoO!"  
He fell silent, a tick starting under his eye as he looked at her, and she stared at him mutinously, lips set in a firm line. Finally he sighed, reaching up to tug at the collar of his shirt, shaking his head ruefully. Then his tricolored eyes narrowed on her, flashing with challenge, making her take a suspicious step backwards as she glared at him.  
"Sssssine what do you think you're - aahh! No no nooooo!"  
She yelped as he started forward, darting away before his hand caught her. He spun, following after her as she hit the bed and rolled, running toward the door in fear. She made it to the door and started to grin in triumph as an arm like steel clamped around her waist, lifting her up. Flailing wildly she took them over with a bark of surprise from him and they went down, him rolling to take the impact and easily grabbing her ankle before she could crawl away.  
"Woman! Stop being obstinate!"  
"Bite my shiny metal ass!"  
Her laugh choked off on a squeal as he yanked and slid her back across the floor, and they tussled in the hallway of the Seelie Sithen like children between laughs and curses. Other nobles were peering out at the commotion, turning their noses up and moving away out of disgust, while the few servants that peeked around corners to find the source of the noise began to snicker, hurrying off to tell the others. Finally Sine jumped to his feet, wrapping an arm around her waist and lifting her against his side, starting off away from their rooms.  
"What - are - you - doin!"  
She wiggled and squirmed to get down, stopping just long enough to hear his reply.  
"Taking you to the Prince, so he can - hey!"  
She braced her feet against the ground and pushed, yelping in triumph as he stumbled with the unexpected move. She hit the floor running and glanced at him over her shoulder, sending him a wide grin.  
"No way, I aint - what?"  
She looked back from the far end of the hallway, staring with her jaw dropped at the place he'd been a moment ago. He'd straightened up, sent her a grin, and then he'd moved in a blur! She was still moving as she looked all around the hallway in suspicion, narrow eyed.  
”Oof! Damn- ahh! How - damnit - no no no!"  
She slammed into him when he appeared with a flutter of wings right in front of her, grabbing her before she could run off. He just sent her a wicked grin and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he started off again. This time he locked an arm around the back of her thighs, putting the other hand on her lower back when she started kicked and squealing at him.  
"No! Damnit Sine put me down this instant!"  
"Sorry my lady, I cannot."  
" _SIIIINE!_ "  
She pummeled his back with her fists, her world upside down as he toted her along like nothing, completely ignoring her attempts to hurt him. The ass!   
It wasn't her fault that she couldn't keep the laughter at bay that kept bubbling up, spilling out between her shrieks. She kept pausing to catch her breath, panting and snickering as she braced her hands on his waist to lean up and kick her feet again, flushed and hair wild which she tried vainly to toss out of her face. His deep chuckle kept rumbling through her every time and she tugged his hair, mock snarling as he looked over his shoulder to see her, eyes glimmering with amusement as he grinned.  
"Sine put me down! This is ridiculous! You don't have to worry Tristan over such nonsense - "  
"Sorry princess, we are already almost there."  
"D-damnit Sine!"  
She flailed again, terror about her hand and embarrassment warring to win over which would kill her first as he shifted his grip in response and her hands slid. She huffed and ignored the stares they were getting as they tromped out of the Sithen and towards the open grounds were the soldiers all trained. With a sudden idea she reached down and pinched the ever living hell out of his backside.   
"OoOOOwww!!!"  
When he stopped and yowled, jumping in surprise, she cackled triumphantly. There was a moment of silence and then he started forward again, moving a little faster as he growled at her.  
"Stubborn wildcat! One more time and I shall retaliate!"  
She fell silent for a moment, thinking hard about her chances of escape as the talking, clanging, and yells of the training field surrounded them. Some were pausing to stare, but most of them glanced over, laughed, and returned to their practice. She heard a sudden burst of laughter, recognizing it as Stratos and Boreas, and panicked.   
They were almost there if she could hear them!  
She heard him start to speak, and Tristan's voice rising in question that was bubbling with laughter he was trying hard to suppress. In desperation she started flailing again instantly, fists and feet smacking against the warrior who didn't even seem to notice the flurry of blows. He turned to speak calmly to the prince and tell them just what had been transpiring, and she finally stopped while he told them, perking up to see what they would say.   
There was a beat of silence that was utter disbelief, and she flinched as the guys all began roaring with laughter except for Tristan, whose voice was shaking with his own barely concealed mirth.  
"I... ah, well... just, put her down then Sine, I will handle it."  
"If you are certain... as soon as I do you had best be ready to catch her because the wildcat is faster than she looks."  
"Hey!"  
One of them choked, she was pretty sure Boreas, and she started snarling.  
"Thank you Sine, you... were wise to bring her to me... just put her down, it will be alright."  
He sounded as if he were having trouble not laughing, and before she understood her world upended and she was standing on her own two feet, shaky as her blood all rushed back to her extremities. Fortunately Side wasn't actually mad at her because he steadied her with his hands on her waist, waiting until she tensed as if to run. But she wasn't going anywhere, she was too busy staring, thunderstruck.  
Because her dearest Tristan had on one of the brightest smiles she had seen him have yet, and he had also apparently not been out here on politics. He'd been training.  
With a simple flick of his wrist he finished dropping his sword into the scabbard on his side, then propped both hands on his hips. Maybe he was talking, she wasn't sure. He had on some of those loose legged pants with the splits up the side hanging low on his lean frame, and nothing else save the belt for the scabbard that was sitting crookedly. Her eyes slid from the sword, past his hands and hips across his stomach, watching in rapt attention as he chuckled, the muscles tensing with the movement, causing some of the sweat he had beaded on his flushed skin to roll down.  
She wanted to -  
This time he said something else, and her gaze snapped up to his, seeing his hair wild about him and face flushed as well, lips parted in that smile. Her own breath eased out in a dreamy sigh as she answered, and she wanted to smack herself.  
"Whaaat...?"  
There were a few snickers from around him, where she knew the others stood, but she didn't care at the moment.  
"I said, may I see your hand, please, my flower...."  
His flower huh?   
She swallowed as her cheeks heated and silently offered up her palm, which was more than hurting now that she remembered its existence, and due to her psychotic antics of the past few minutes coated with blood and puffy around the splinter.  
 _Splinter!_  
She gasped in remembered horror, jaw falling open as she looked, Tristan gently taking hold of her wrist to bring it closer. He tsked and sent Sine a chiding look.  
"You could have cleaned it first Sine - "  
"Oh no! You did not see her! She was doing -that- at first too, until I pointed out that I would have to 'touch it' to pull out the splinter and 'fix it'! She nearly took my arm off!"  
She shot him a mutinous glare, sticking out her tongue while he huffed and rolled his eyes, but his lips were twitching. She jerked, snapping back around with a hiss as Tristan's fingers grazed across hers while he looked. He was bent slightly, hair trailing over his shoulder as he lifted his lashes to capture her gaze. All she could do was stare, swallowing past a sudden lump in her throat as he halfway smiled and looked over his shoulder.   
"Iridius, please come see about this, will you?"  
She sent a panicked look at the scholar as he stepped forward, tugging at her wrist in response to him coming closer. Iridius took hold of her hand, and Tristan slid his touch up her arm, grabbing her chin between two fingers. With a deft move the prince wound her arm around his waist, stepping forward into her space, and suddenly he was all she could see, forgetting about Iridius just behind him with a hold on her hand. The heat of his skin was soaking into her bare arm when he tilted her chin up, his smile turning just a hint of bashful, charming.   
"Look at me, little wild cat, and it will all be okay..."  
Just as her muscles started to relax there was a pinch at her hand, a snag of pain that made her whip her gaze to his shoulder, trying to see around him at what the other was doing. A low whine escaped her throat, her other hand coming up to grab his hip, tensing like she would pull away, because she had every intention of doing so, to get away before it could hurt _more_ , and -  
"Ah ah ah, you must ignore him, only for a moment..."  
She started to shake her head, bringing her gaze back to sea blue eyes that were softened on her. It made her pause, but then she tried to say something, hand clenching against his skin because splinters mean tearing pain! Tristan took a deep breath, chest rising inches from her nose, and she refocused in the swell of muscle there, her mouth going dry. He chuckled then, his hand falling to settle against her shoulder, curling a finger in her wayward hair, lowering his voice as he spoke to her. Keeping her attention.  
"Such a fuss you were making about this..... we could hear you all the way out here..."  
She sniffed at that, but was thoroughly distracted by the movement of his throat, and how another drop of sweat rolled down and over his collar, then farther.  
"I do believe that wildcat is a more suitable name for you though... you ssssss-ee-ah-"  
Whatever he'd been about to say cut off with a hiss as he clenched his teeth, going stiff in surprise, hand tightening on her shoulder enough to bruise. She'd leaned forward before she could manage to talk herself out of it, and catching the bead of moisture, swiped her tongue in a slow, damp glide up the swell of his chest. When she leaned back, nearly humming to herself, she glanced up to see his jaw had fallen and he was staring down at her. But instead of his eyes being tiny with shock, like miniature pools of the ocean as usual, the blue was almost gone, gaze gone dark with heat that flickered with the far off flash of lightening in the depths. Her breath stopped in her throat, refusing to work as her heart skipped a beat and started thudding painfully against her ribs. When he closed his mouth, something moved through his eyes that looked almost dangerous. She started to stammer, feeling like the mouse caught by the cat suddenly, and -  
"All done! You see, it was not that bad."  
Iridius's chipper voice jerked them both back, and Tristan turned slightly, his hold on the arm that had been hurt falling away. She jerked her hand up to see it, grinning when she saw it was fixed.  
"Thank you!"  
Iridius hummed and stepped away, and she caught movement, glancing at the UnSeelie king who wore an expression of mischievous amusement, his metallic gaze almost sparkling as he stared with a wide grin at his nephew. She realized when he sent her a glance and looked back at Tristan that he had seen what she'd done. Her cheeks flushed crimson and she looked at Tristan, who seemed suddenly determined, and she stammered a quick get away.  
"I - I gotta go now I was - ah - I was s-suppose to go ah - a-ah go - meet Belanus! Yeah and learn some cool stuff in the gardens th-thanks guys I'll see y'all in a little w-while!"   
She spun away from Tristan, about to sprint back across the yards to safety. She made it two steps before she came to an abrupt halt, jerking back with a yelp of surprise and being caught against a wall of seething power that sent bright, electric bolts zinging down her spine. Tristan had wrapped his fist in her long hair and caught it when she moved to run, yanking her back flush against him. She went utterly still, swallowing harshly, breath hitching when he leaned down to breathe against the side of her neck, the brush of his lips the barest press against her skin. This close, his voice rumbled through her when he spoke, and she felt light headed at his words and the heat behind them.  
" _I will get you back for that, my little kitten, and we shall see who is the wild cat then._ "  
Then with the barest tug as promise against her hair, he let her go, stepping back, and she bolted across the grounds as fast as she could, face burning and breath coming much faster than it should have been.  
 _Shit!_


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another one, sorry for the wait, its.. well, been a bit busy recently. But I'm still hammering away at the keyboard, don't loose faith.  
> Intrigue! The meeting between the brothers! A trail of breadcrumbs? More random stuff that doesn't seem to make sense but it WILL *dun DUN dUuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnn*

That night, she slept in her own bed. Fitfully, at best, but she did. A quick stop the kitchen procured her some unusual little fruit filled cake for her to nibble on, and then she was making her way outside to the training grounds again. She was relatively certain Tristan wasn't out there today, he was probably with his father, as would be most of the others, but the other guards would still be out there practising.  
A quick swipe of her hands together removed the last crumbs of the pastry, but she still dusted her top off just in case before stepping outside. At the edge of the field she looked around, hands behind her back and shoulders rounded, foot scraping the dirt. She was usually a little nervous in crowds, and while she did knew several of the other guards to a small extent, it was nothing like _her guards_ , and she usually felt kind of awkward. But she wanted to be outside, and eventually find Chopper to hang out with him some, plus not get into any trouble, so this was really one of the safest places to be, she thought. But still, she hesitated, wanting a more familiar face amidst the groups of soldiers fighting and learning, moving to barked orders, most of them nearly blurs to her vision.  
Then after a moment, some of the tension began to ease from her. It wasn't entirely, but it was some, because she realized that this wasn't something altogether strange to her. After all, she was am army brat, her father had been in the national guard, she'd been on military bases a thousand times. It felt like that to her, now that she had calmed slightly. Even so, she still watched in quiet awe and amazement as they trained. Of course, the guards were a wide variety of Sidhe. There were men, women, and those who were more animal or phantom than anything. Although they all had somewhere on their clothing the colors of their king, they were still an unusual bunch to her, so many different types of people fit into one field, all working together. She thought the humans back home could learn a thing or two from them.  
Still, she hesitated, shifting from foot to foot while she tried to decide what to do. She was certainly not going to just -  
"Wooooooow......"  
She paused in her sweep of the field to snap her eyes back to one side, lips parting in surprise, and pure wonder, at the sight. There was a sidhe she had never seen, one with the sun warmed skin and long golden hair, several feet off the ground. He held his sword at the ready, facing off with some opponent, but her attention was on his back, or rather, the wings that were beating steadily behind him, keeping him suspended in place. They were a pure white, gilt edged it seemed as they arched and straightened, moving in a streak as he dove toward his opponent with a strike of his blade. The other danced back but was driven to his knees, unable to withstand the flurry of blows. Holy shit he was awesome! She wanted to go over and talk, see this up close because they were huge and he was amazing as he landed and they folded at his back. Actually, she wanted to go touch them and call him an angel. She really wanted to see his face too so she would know him later.  
She shook her head and whipped around at a particularly loud clang, flinching in sympathy because there was a gruff shout, and a few laughs following the sound. Someone had just gotten their ass kicked, she thought, gaze finally landing on what she figured was the source of the commotion. There was a small group of the soldiers around two figures, one of which was on the ground, looking a little dazed as he shook his head and wobbled to his feet. He looked like one of the younger ones, snarling at the other guy who had knocked him on his rear, but the others were clapping him on the shoulder and ribbing him, laughing good naturedly, and after a moment he seemed to grudgingly relax. As the others moved around a bit, she finally got a glimpse at the one standing mostly by himself, tilting his sword this way and that as he peered at it distractedly. Oh, she knew him!  
Quickly starting over with a smile, she noticed one of the other soldiers stepping up, raising a hand to pat him on the shoulder, and when his hand descended without gaining the taller man's attention first, she was already flinching, hurrying just a bit more. But she was too late, too far away, even if she was almost there, and she winced when the friendly, if a tad naïve, Sidhe went sprawling after a loud thump of sound. He hit the dirt with a shout of surprise that had the others whirling, going very still as he looked up to find that big ass blade inches from his nose, steady in the grip of the one he'd surprised.  
"Awww Neit, I told you that you were going to have to relax a little..."  
Her tone was chiding, friendly, holding the edge of laughter as she made it there before tensions broke. Nobody had moved, and she stepped around the red haired UnSeelie captain, who switched his gaze to her with a raise of his eyebrow. The other soldiers turned their attention to her as well, making her nervous, but she sent them a bright smile and then one to Neit, who still had yet to twitch. She pressed her fingertips to the edge of his blade, moving to stand in front of him, between the two, as she gently pushed it to the side and down so that it no longer pointed at the Sidhe on the ground. He of course followed her urging, barely allowing her to touch the blade so that she didn't cut her hand, and she looked back at the other sidhe sprawled on the ground, offering him a hand.  
"Caomh, you should know you can't surprise a soldier with a weapon in his hand without a bit of danger..."  
She gave another soft laugh, and around her the others actually echoed it a little, the man finally blowing out a breath and giving them all a sheepish grin. He took her hand and she pulled him up, smiling as he dusted himself off and sent Neit laugh.  
"I did not mean to surprise you, she is right though. I was going to say good match."  
Neit nodded his head in thanks, and Caomh tilted his head at her, moving off to soft jokes from some of the others about grabbing the bull by the tail. After a moment they dispersed, and she turned back to Neit, who was looking at her strangely. Instantly she shrank seven inches, ducking her head and staring at the ground.  
"Sorry, I was just-"  
"Thank you."  
She blinked up at him in surprise, and his lips twitched up at one corner, just slightly, and it made her grin widely. He was not one very prone to much emotion or at least showing it. Raising his arm up he dropped his sword back into the sheath across his back, the metal ringing through the clearing as he turned so that he was facing the field of soldiers but standing at her side still.  
"Thought I was going to have to fight them all for a moment there. Whelp should not have come up in my blind spot, but I suppose I should have... tried to lessen my reaction somewhat."  
She hummed softly, twisting her hands together and glancing around, halfway wondering what had happened to the wings she had seen earlier, having lost them in her distraction.  
"Nah, they kind of try to pick at you more anyway, don't they? Because you're UnSeelie..."  
She heard the clinks of the cuffs in his hair as they tilted when he turned to face her in obvious surprise, and she sent him a look.  
"You think I haven't noticed? Of course, you're also the captain of the guards for another King, they want to prove their might against you, or try, for that too... but that's a part of it. They're not all like that, and I think some do it without thinking sometimes, like its been that way so long, they don't really think about it anymore, maybe don't mean it that way but... yeah. If you let them push you around a little, the ones that would, well, they would step up and try to bully you around..."  
He turned back to the field, inclining his head at her words in acknowledgement, a deep rumble coming out of his chest she interpreted to be a thoughtful hum. After a moment, he answered, his voice lowered just for her.  
"Perhaps you are right, I do not think they all do it purposely, but yes many do... it has been that way for so long... But what of you?"  
She looked at him in surprise, meeting his dark gaze that was always so somber in question.  
" _Me_? What about me?"  
"You do not seem to draw a distinction. You act the same at both courts, in fact seem more relaxed at our dark court, and treat the UnSeelie and Seelie the same, as long as they treat you with some semblance of respect. You defend those that are not full Sidhe from those that are if they are being treated wrongly to you..."  
Her cheeks had heated and she dropped her gaze, uncomfortable being put on the spot. She stared at her toes and twirled a strand of hair around her finger.  
"Ah... I don't... understand. I mean, what about that? I just.. I dunno, I see no reason for it...."  
"Yes, and that is exactly what I mean.."  
She looked back up at him, seeing a softening in his gaze that made her smile shyly at him, and he chuckled softly, turning away to glance out across the field and sigh.  
"I think I shall go bash some more Seelie heads together. Excuse me, my lady..."  
She nodded, then gasped, remembering, and reached out to touch his arm lightly. He glanced back, curious, and she felt the blush returning but willed it away.  
"I ah, could you help me? I was looking for Chopper, have you seen him?"  
"Chopper?"  
"Oh my do-ah, my ah, familiar....? Four legs, yay tall, orange with black strips and white feet, major attitude, he's a dog but..."  
"Ah! Yes, ah, the little protector -"  
"The what?"  
"He is with Boreas."  
"What? Why-"  
"Try the grounds just yonder, past the yew trees, there is a smaller area for training, such as for our animals. I believe he should be there."  
"Oh, ah, well... th-thanks Neit..."  
His eyes were dancing with some hidden amusement, and she wondered at it as she headed off in the direction he had pointed. Why was Boreas with Chopper? The guys had said they were taking him to train, and she hadn't seen him for two or three days. A lot had been happening sure, but she missed her little buddy damnit.  
And just what did that scoundrel Boreas have to do with it?

She stopped dead in her tracks a few steps into the next clearing for two reasons. One, the place was awesome; it was filled with all kinds of equipment, most she couldn't even guess at the purposes of or for what animals they were intended, but she recognized a few strangely enough. It was half the size of the other field, but there were several places that led off, she assumed for longer trails or something of the sort. And two, because she could not believe her freaking eyes.  
"Holy fuck."  
Chopper sat on the ground beside the King as he spoke to another Sidhe, listening intently, one ear perked up. He was utterly still, focused as he listened as if the little shit could understand them. What she couldn't get over was the silver and black loops of chain mail that looped around his middle and overed his back and sides, attached to a collar she knew hadn't been there before. It was jet black and had silver, copper, and gold in some kind of designs on it she couldn't quite see from here, although she was willing to bet that they would match those of the rogue's beside him. He looked remarkably freshly groomed, admittedly more so than he had been in years. But hey, there wasn't many groomers that willingly took clippers or a brush to a dog his size. She would guess the Sidhe didn't have to worry so much though since they were stronger, so there was that. She almost didn't recognize him.  
Still, she had more than missed him, and she knelt down, clicking her tongue to get his attention. His ears perked, and his head swiveled around instantly. As soon as he focused on her his jaw fell open, tongue lolling out as his tail began thumping wildly, and he was off like a shot. Boreas turned to see, giving a proud smile and waving off the Sidhe still trying to talk to him as if he were inconsequential now, crossing his arms and waiting as he looked at her. She would get his ass in a minute, she thought, rolling her eyes at him and hearing his laugh from over here just as Chopper barrelled into her. She was overwhelmed for a moment by the bright flash of happiness and excitement from him, and a thousand images all about his last few days flooded her. She gaped at him in surprise, nearly getting slimed for it since he was trying to crawl into her lap and lick her face again.  
"Chopper... you... what? Chill! Chill chill!"  
He sat back with a huff, tongue still hanging, tail popping the ground as she looked at him. The overload slowed somewhat as he focussed on her, but she was still surprised. Had her magic changed so much, or had he? Footsteps crunched over the dirt and she looked up as Boreas stopped beside them, still smiling. She sent him a suspicious look that had him chuckling while she petted Chopper.  
"What have you been up to with my poor baby?"  
Chopper snorted and sent her an affronted look at the name, making her jaw drop as she stared at him. His answers were like Vorum and Torum's had been before, like pictures or memories colored with emotions, but she could understand them almost as easily as she could if he spoke.  
"You _are_ my baby you little shit!"  
This time his eyes lit up and he wagged his tail happily, making her grumble at him and shoot Boreas a look. He just grinned, unrepentant as always.  
"About halfway through his first day of so called training, I actually came out here to the field myself. The guards had brought him for exercise, and to socialize a bit I believe, but he quickly got into the sport of it. When I saw how fast he learned, I figured I could give him a real chance to learn something and called my animal trainer from my own sithen to come see to him. I have overseen most of his training, and I must admit, he is an amazing little friend. He was born to be a protector you know, fierce and loyal, and highly intelligent..."  
Chopper puffed his chest out, raising his head regally as Boreas murmured the praise and looked down at him, gently setting his hand on the dog's head. When those big dark eyes turned to hers, pleading, one ear perked up in silent question, she didn't even have to ask what he wanted. She sighed, staring at him intently, drawing it out just a moment before she huffed in resignation, trailing a glance down at the insignia on the front of his collar. Yep, it had been Boreas's crest alright.  
"Alright, fine. I'm not gonna tell you that you caint train with him go ahead. Especially if you're havin fun - bah, staaahp you little - yarg!"  
She shoved him off when he jumped into her lap again, excitedly trying to lick her face while he basically shouted thank you in her head as many times as he could. He rolled through the grass and bounded back up, coming over to flop down across her lap and thump his tail, wallowing happily while she scratched him. Boreas gave a soft hum of noise and she looked up, feeling her cheeks darkening at the knowing look there.  
"What?"  
"Nothing! Nothing at all my dear.... why do the two of you not sit here a few moments and enjoy each others company, I must go have a quick word with his trainer... I shall return quickly."  
She nodded, watching as he turned and started across the field. Her gaze whipped down to Choppers as he sent her a thought that had her face flaming and she flipped him onto the ground with a snort.  
"Don't even go there! ANYway, if you're havin fun you really are welcome to hang out and do this.. I don't mind. As long as you come back occasionally..."  
He huffed an affirmative and leaned against her side, wagging as she threw an arm around him. They sat quietly like that a few moments, enjoying each others company in the silence like they used to at home. She could see Boreas across the field, speaking with the trainer and gesturing. He really wasn't anything like most of his subjects thought, and a few bad words from Llyr weren't going to make her doubt that. She knew him pretty well. Of course, she had seen just a flicker of that other side, when he'd gotten mildly upset a time or two, but that didn't mean what his brother had said was true. Tristan and the others had that side, hell, when she got mad enough she had that side of herself that seemed completely different. It was the people whose 'normal' side were like that all the time that you had to worry about. Or those who couldn't draw a line to make the difference, like Llyr.  
She rocked sideways and snapped her attention back as Chopper snuffled against her again, nearly knocking her over.  
"T'hell are you doin?"  
She pushed at him but he came right back, both ears perked, tail out straight, and she went still, raising her arms to let him sniff. What had he caught scent of? It was foggy in his mind, like he was trying to remember where the scent came from as he pawed at her. She was frowning at him, wondering as he caught his nose on her pocket and then stuck half his muzzle inside. With a jerk she pulled him back, making him send her a dark look but she only rolled her eyes and reached into her pocket to pull out whatever it was he wanted, and froze. When she pulled the coin out of her pocket, staring down in surprise at him, he leaned forward to sniff it and give a short growl, the hairs on his neck standing up.  
"What are you - where?"  
The scent triggered a memory of another like it, and when he formed it and pushed it at her, she could only gape at him in surprise. There was no way, /no way/, because -  
"Alright, I am - ah... is everything alright?"  
They both whipped around at Boreas's voice, and she shoved the coin back into her pocket. Wrapping an arm around Chopper's neck she hugged him tightly and shot to her feet.  
"Yes! It is! Thank you Chopper I'm gonna go see about that right now, and ah... thank you Boreas, he's really enjoying this... it was sweet of you.... but he reminded me of something I gotta go!"  
He looked after her in confusion as she whirled on her heel, starting off at a run before she wheeled to a stop and turned back.  
”I ..... I'll see you at dinner, right?"  
"Yes...."  
"Good! I've got... uhm.. there's something important I need to show you tonight so... ah... don't make any plans after dinner, but its.... its a secret so don't tell anybody okay?"  
The king looked stunned, then intrigued, and finally nodded. She gave him another nod and was off once more, hurrying toward the solar room while her stomach tied itself in knots. There was no way, no way, no way they had been this blind, had they?

When she burst into the solar room, Iridius startled up from his seat, dropping the feathered quill he wrote with, crystalline eyes going wide in surprise. He was alone, good.  
"My lady, what-"  
"Where's the throne?"  
He blinked at her in confusion, smoothing down his robes and tilting his head slowly.  
"Ah, I believe they would be in the courtroom -"  
"No no no, Tristan's throne, the one Rosalyn sabotaged."  
Understanding dawned and he turned, despite his still curious glance, and motioned for her to follow him. They wound through his solar, around books, tables draped in innumerable flowers and vines, shelves of rolled parchments and glass bottles of lord knew what, and finally back to a darker corner. Here he moved some other thing out of the way and there it sat, still glimmering silver in the light, the scythe like blades stuck out and embedded into the back of the chair. It made something cold slither down her spine, a knot of dread settling into the pit of her stomach as she moved forward. There was still even a small splash of now near black across one blade, and she knew it was from her blood.  
When she moved towards it, Iridius touched her shoulder lightly, concern in his gaze.  
"Is everything alright? You look... pale."  
"Y-yeah, just a second, I just... needed to see about something..."  
His hand fell away, and she moved forward, stopping just shy of it, holding her hands out towards it. When she opened her ears she winced, hearing that -  
Oh shit.  
She stared at it in surprise, then shook her head, focusing again. She had to be sure, she had to be. Moments later, when she shifted through the sounds, finding the music layered within the making of the metal, the touch of the one who had built it, she wanted to scream. A flicker of her attention to the coin in her pocket proved it; they matched.  
"Iridius, do you know where this was gotten?"  
As she turned he nodded, still seeming a bit surprised.  
"Of course. The queen has much of their things made by the same person, as a way to give him something to do over the years... nobody else really knows, except Tristan. His craft is very good, although nots good as Aedh's was."  
"So you're... saying, that Llyr made this? For certain?"  
"Well yes my lady, but we did not suspect him of trying this at all, it was why it was believed to be Rosalyn so easily, had he wanted to try to take Tristan's life, he would have done so face to face. We found traces of her magic on the throne, remember?"  
She nodded, because yes, she remembered. Was she overreacting? Maybe they had thought of this before, and knew it was actually silly. But she didn't think she was wrong. Her own thoughts were that if Llyr could take out the others in his way, like Tristan, without having to dirty his own hands in battle, he would. And maybe he was scared, maybe he knew his nephew was more powerful than him in a fair fight, so he wasn't playing fair.  
"Right... yeah good point."  
"Did you think you had come up with something new to help?"  
"I did but... its alright, I'm sure you're right... I just realized I recognized the music, and wanted to check them together... never mind Iridius, thank you."  
He nodded, sending her a small smile as she moved around him and back towards the door. She paused, just inside the doorway, glancing back as he stopped by his desk.  
"Are you feeling well?"  
He whipped up to face her, blinking wide eyed a moment.  
"Yes of course, why would I not be?"  
She narrowed her gaze at him and sighed, wagging a finger at him in admonishment.  
"You're staying up too long researching this and that again aren't you? You have to sleep too Iridius."  
His shoulders drooped in relief, and he gave a weak chuckle.  
"Yes, I know. I should... I will retire a little early tonight.."  
"Good... I'll see you at dinner then Iridius... "

Stepping past the quiet guard at the door with a nod and polite smile she paused in the doorway of the King's chambers, gaze sweeping the room. Alone.  
Well, damn.  
She had been kind of hoping that Tristan would be here, but oh well. Aurii was still asleep at the moment, but by the reports from the guys he had woken for a good while the last afternoon, and earlier this morning. She assumed, since Tristan had said this was where he would be most of the day, that he had been conscious a good while this morning and was simply sleeping that off. She was glad truthfully, for plenty of reasons, that he was getting better. Although she wasn't admitting it out loud, she was kind of glad mostly because it meant Tristan would have more time again, and not be so busy.  
Either way, she was here so she might as well be useful. Moving closer to the bed she could tell they were the same bandages she'd applied the day before, and she picked up a few things she would need. After all, he was simply resting to get better, he certainly didn't need them anymore. A few quick snips was all it took, and she was carefully unwinding what was left of the bandages, looking once more at the place where the thorn had made the terrible injury. It was all but healed, just a little pink, as if it might scar, and the hair was already growing back around it. She wet the edge of a rag and gently blotted the area, cleaning it of any remaining medicine, and smoothed his hair down. Considering that done, and a good job she told herself, she put the things up and moved to stand, intending to find something else more productive to do.  
But a hand on her wrist stopped her.  
"You-"  
Turning back in surprise she stared at the king who had moved to take her arm in his hold, levering up on one elbow as he spoke. His voice broke slightly and he looked frustrated, reaching up to touch his throat, and she reached for the pitcher of water, pouring him a glass of it and passing it to him. Genuine surprise lit his features, and she settled back onto the stool, waiting while he downed half the glass. She thought he would drop her arm, but she took the glass when he was through and sat it back down, waiting while he caught his breath a moment, perhaps even thinking about whatever it was he wanted to say. In the meantime she noticed his color was getting better, more that sun kissed gold of the seelie, his hair with the same shine of fire it had before, and she could see his eyes now. They locked on hers steadily, seeming far more serious than she thought they should be right now, the gold, orange, and red like embers burning with a dull glow. When he opened his mouth to speak this time, his voice didn't waver, and she was the one who was utterly shocked.  
"I want to thank you."  
For a moment all she could do was stare at him, lips parting, and found she did not have a voice. She didn't know what to answer to him, this man she had started to think was so bad, an asshole father at least, and who she thought sincerely disliked her. Her took her silence for some kind of prompting she assumed, because he sighed softly, and continued.  
"My son has told me of what you have done to save my life, and I realize I owe my survival to you. No, do not protest, it is true. By the time any of them would have thought of something else, it would have surely been too late. He has been trying to catch me up on the happenings of the courts while I am gone, but... there is a great many things he is also not telling me. I can see it in his gaze, but he will not speak of it. I will not push him, for he will tell me when he is ready, and since it does not weigh heavily upon him, I will let it be. There is also a lightness in his step, a shine to him that I have not seen in years... and I find that I have missed it a great deal more than I realized. I am also aware that it is because of you."  
"But I haven't -"  
"Yes, you have. I know that I cannot question you for the things he will not tell me, for you are loyal to him over me. And... while once that might have made me angry, it no longer does. I find I am glad that my son has a circle of... of friends, people he can rely on, and I hope they stay that way after he becomes King... He will need them. I am aware of his views which differ from mine, and how he wishes to rule. I have been a stubborn fool for far too long, and this year, at the crowning ceremony, I intend to step down from my throne."  
Had he have reached out and back handed her, she could not have been more surprised. All she could do was stare at him in wide eyed surprise. She had no idea what to say to this, or why in the hell he was telling /her/ of all people.  
"I have no doubt my son shall take up the mantle of power, and be a better king than I... I do ask that you keep this between us. I will speak to Morrigan about it later, but until then, I would like it to be kept a secret. Will you do that?"  
She stared at him a moment, thinking, and couldn't find a reason it would hurt anything, not that she could come up with.  
"I suppose so.."  
"Good. Tristan says that they are intending to perform the Carminum Rituum on the sacred day as well, and if it does not go well, or at all, then perhaps the succession of power will give the people hope..."  
"I... I think it will."  
"Thank you... now, I am aware that we have not gotten along so well before now, and .. I wish to remedy that. So, I ask you to forgive my folly, and perhaps, from this day on, we can be... better towards each other. For my sons sake."  
She would not cry damnit, she would not. Instead, she just nodded and smiled a little tentatively at him.  
"Yeah, that would be cool."  
Amusement lit his starburst eyes and he rumbled a laugh, leaning back against his pillows again with a long, tired sigh.  
"Thank you my dear... now, I think I will rest my old bones a while longer before they return with more... court.. politics..."  
As his grip slipped away, she gently sat his hand over his stomach, pulling the blankets up over him a bit more before stepping back. He was already out, the poor thing, but his lips were still curved in a beautific, weary smile. Inside she was reeling, more surprised than she could say by what he had said, and now she really wanted to find Tristan.

When she found him in the hallway, walking between Stratos and several of the Seelie nobles, none of which she knew the actual names of though she knew some others, she walked right towards him. He seemed surprised for a moment, but held his hand up at the others, murmuring a soft excuse me before stepping forward to meet her halfway up the hallway. The smile that curved his lips was soft, eyes calming somewhat as they landed on her, and she met them with a smile of her own.  
"Ah, how is your day going so far - ....?"  
He cut off in surprise when she didn't stop in front of him, just walked up into him and slid her arms around his waist, burying her face against his chest. It was only a moment of surprised silence before he relaxed against her, his arms coming down to wrap around her.  
"And what is this for, may I ask?"  
"Cause I wanted to.."  
Her voice was muffled against his tunic, but he heard her, and an answering chuckle rumbled under her cheek.  
"I suppose that is alright then..."  
It was, she thought, listening to his heart beating steadily under her ear, the scent she'd become so familiar with winding around her as she held him. He said no more and made no move to step away until she did, leaving the nobles waiting at the other end of the hallway. She muttered something about seeing him at supper and hurried away, cheeks dusted with pink at herself, and left him looking after her with a small grin.

Stratos stepped up beside the prince and clapped a hand on his shoulder, getting him a startled jump and then a sheepish grin. The captain only laughed.  
"Come my lord, the others await... ah, your heart is showing-"  
Tristan jerked and looked down as he flushed, smoothing his hands over his tunic before he paused and sent his friend a scathing look, lips twitching as he caught on.  
"Close your impertinent mouth and come on."  
He turned back to the other nobles and ignored Stratos's laughter behind him, putting back on the court smile, the blank mask so they could not read his every emotion. Strangely, it was getting a bit more difficult to do, thanks to a certain wild, stubborn creature that made him wish he did not have to play so many political games.

\---

Back in the Seelie King's chambers, when the door closed behind the human girl, a figure stepped forward. They had been standing near one of the tapestries farther in the room, unmoving so as not to draw attention to themselves. Silvery hair fluttered as the figure walked forward but the usual chimes with the movement were missing, and it did not have quite the presence it should. As they stopped by the bed, they raised a hand, making a gesture from their forehead to the floor. Almost at once light rippled, as if splitting apart a curtain, and the illusion of the scholar faded away. Reaching out that same hand, they touched the kings arm lightly, eyes blazing with quiet fury.  
"Why would you trust this human with such a secret and not me?"  
Morrigan turned, skirts rustled as she stepped away from the bed, and walked over to another tapestry, swiping it aside and disappearing behind it.  
"I will show him..."

\------

She was glad they'd had dinner early. It had been a simple affair with nothing major happening, thankfully. Everyone had shown up, and they had all laughed and talked about their days. Then of course she had excused herself, saying she was going outside for a while longer to enjoy the sunset and all, that she wasn't tired or ready for bed yet. Tristan had smiled and patted her arm before returning to the conversation. Easy as pie, she thought.  
When she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her, she paused. Neit stood beside the door as usual, on guard like he always was when following the king around. She'd never thought about it before, but she was going to ask Boreas why he didn't invite the captain in with the others sometime. With a shake of her head at her wayward thoughts, she plucked at the captains sleeve to get his attention.  
"Neit?"  
"Yes my lady?"  
"I would ask a favor of you, if possible."  
"I will try my lady....?"  
She tugged him down so she could whisper in his ear for a moment, nodding at his soft question, and finally he straightened. With another nod he resumed his stance by the door.  
"I shall see it done."  
"Thank you Neit."  
Quickly she turned on her heel and started off, before anyone could come by and see.

The willows out by the small stream were beautiful, glimmering in the colors of sunset, the water reflecting the glow like fire, and she thought it oddly fitting for the plans she had for that night. A branch snapping had her turning slowly, still leaned against one of the trees, and she smiled as he moved forward.  
"I had wondered how I would know where to find you, but I suppose you had thought of that already."  
He straightened up, tugging once at the long vest he wore as a top, and she paused for a heartbeat to admire him out here in the forest like this. At home, part of the ageless woods. She shook her head and stepped forward, rolling her eyes at his words as if the last thoughts had never crossed her mind.  
"Yeah, well, it feels like subterfuge, which is strange since we're not sneaking off to murder someone or anything.."  
"Ah well.... I was so hoping to get my hands bloody tonight."  
Her surprised bark of laughter echoed back at them from the water and she clapped a hand over her mouth, swatting at him while he snickered.  
"You hush your heathen mouth! You're a king you brat."  
Lips twitching, the UnSeelie king crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows, hair sliding over one shoulder like the brush of ebony feathers.  
"I suppose I am. Which reminds me, why are we skulking about the woods in the near dark, purposely alone and in secret? If you wanted a bed warmer you could have simply asked and-"  
He cut off with a delighted cackle as she swung at him again with an embarrassed hiss, face flaming. Stopping out of arms reach he shrugged and sent her a charming smirk, wagging his eyebrows and she finally laughed, shooting him a dirty look.  
"You know that's not it you ass."  
"Ah one could but hope."  
She snorted and sent him a look, shaking her head at his antics. After a moment of silence she sighed, shoulders slumping as she rubbed the back of her neck and thought about what she was doing.  
"Boreas, do you trust me?"  
The silence stretched on for several heartbeats, and finally she looked over at him to see him staring at her in surprise. She just waited, holding his metallic gaze, and he nodded slowly.  
"Yes, I would say I do. Why ever do you ask that?"  
Relief had the tension slipping from her shoulders and she held out her hand, beckoning him forward.  
"Because I need you to trust me. And to promise to keep this a secret for a while. At least... unless we decide otherwise. I have something to show you.."  
Cocking his head with curiosity, he seemed to think about it a moment before he blew out a breath and stepped forward, lacing his hand together with hers.  
"Alright, then I shall."  
"Good! C'mon then!"  
Her smile was bright that she aimed at him, beyond relieved, and he seemed taken aback for a moment, before looking down and off, cheeks darkening slightly. As they walked forward in silence a bit, he let them get perhaps a mile through the woods before he finally asked.  
"So where are you taking me anyway oh mysterious woman?"  
She huffed a laugh and shook her head, pulling him along a bit faster as the sun begun to set over the trees.  
"You'll see."  
He sent her a look, one tinged with frustration she was sure, but mostly impatience, and pouted out his lip. She shook her head again, despite his attempts. He would just have to wait.

The moon was up, stars turning above them in a blanket of colorful light amidst the darkness when they stepped into the moonflower clearing. She came to a sudden stop as he froze, looking around in wonder, metallic eyes wide with surprise. When he finally looked at her again she smiled, head tilting to the side.  
"They're pretty, aren't they?"  
He knelt down to see them better, cupping one hand around one of the bright bulbs, cooing at it when it chimed happily and swayed toward him.  
"They do have a mind of their own....."  
He glanced up at her, sending her this bright, child-like smile, and she felt her heart stuttering in her chest. What was with her?  
"So this is what you wanted to show me? They are quite beautiful..."  
She nearly didn't hear his soft murmur amidst the sounds of the flowers around him. They had all taken notice of him, and leaned toward him, brushing against him with soft petals, as if just as awed of him. She wondered if it was the element part of him, that piece that hummed under his skin with the song of earth, or just him. Maybe both, she thought.  
"Actually no, although I did want you to see them, there's more."  
He looked up in surprise, eyebrows raising, but followed when she gently tugged his hand. They walked carefully amidst the flowers, winding over to the rock wall covered in ivy. It took her only a moment to wave her hand, breathing out the same word as before, and with a quiet rumble the rocks split and began to slide open again. Boreas went stiff with surprise, watching, and she started leading him inside. As they walls closed behind them, he let out a low, slightly nervous laugh that she knew he had to be faking as he sidled closer to her.  
"Come now, what is this surprise? Are you bringing me down here to kill me and hide the body?"  
She snorted and elbowed him, earning her a tight smile in response. It made her wonder why he was nervous suddenly, perhaps he didn't like caves? Instead of messing with him she pulled him closer to her side as they wove around the protrusions, walking through the spotlights in the cave.  
"No you silly thing. I told you it was a surprise though. You'll just have to wait until we get there. But we are almost there if it helps."  
Though he sighed as if put upon by her answer he was almost visibly relieved, she hid her smile. The mans imagination almost rivaled hers. Almost.  
Finally the glow at the end of the tunnel became visible, standing starkly against the dark around it. She pulled Boreas to a stop, who was squinting hard to see what lay beyond the light.  
"Alright, this is it, _but_ , you have to wait right here for just a second. Only until I call you!"  
He gave a pitiful whine, one that had her blinking at him in shock for a moment before she had to slap her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Once she was composed she put her hands on her hips, giving him the most stern mom face she could muster. He wilted instantly, crossing his arms and looking off when he realized she'd won and she smiled. Before moving off she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist in a light hug, knowing she'd surprised him when he went stiff, but then he returned it tentatively.  
"It'll be alright, I'll be _right_ back, okay?"  
Somewhat mollified he shooed her on, and with a small laugh she swept forward, rushing the few yards into the actual cave. When she stepped inside she could hear shuffling and the sound of things being moved around off one side, and she moved toward it, talking instead of yelling out for him.  
"Hey, I'm back!"  
Something skidded, then there were a few other thumps and muffled curse. She couldn't help the giggle that sprang up, and it worsened when he darted around the doorway, covered in dust, hair in disarray, something like soot smudged across his cheeks. His grin was bright but it went sheepish as he looked down at himself, quickly shaking once head to toe like a dog and rubbing at his face. Surprisingly enough it worked, and he looked back to normal.  
"You returned!"  
"Don't sound so surprised! I told you I would."  
He opened his mouth, hesitating, and peered around her once, eyes shining.  
"He's here, but I had him wait in the hallway a moment. I didn't tell him why we were coming here, I figured it could be a surprise. M'not sure he would've believe me anyway so...."  
His gaze snapped back to hers in surprise, darkening with worry and trepidation, and she stepped forward to touch his arm lightly.  
"Don't worry, it'll be alright. I'm gonna go get him, okay?"  
He nodded at her, smoothing his hands over his hair and robes, looking pale and green at the same time. The poor thing was so nervous it was ridiculous, she thought, but it was kind of understandable too. When she stepped past the doorway, Boreas was where she'd left him, arms still crossed. He turned his glare to her, absolutely mutinous, but it faded as he saw the look on hers. Suddenly there was hesitation, and his gaze darted around, snapping back to hers as if it had just occurred to him where they might be. She held out her hand and waited, giving him a moment if he really didn't want to do this, but he moved forward slowly, as if battling internally with what he wanted to do. When he reached her and took her hand, his had gotten cool, shaking slightly with his sudden nerves, and she rubbed her thumb back and forth over the back of his hand soothingly, pulling him inside. He squeezed his eyes shut and followed, ducking his head as they came through, going stiff when she stopped.  
A noise from behind her had his eyes opening finally, and his gaze snapped to the other figure in the room. She swore his breathing stopped, the grip of his hand tightening so much she thought he was going to crush her hand, but she didn't say anything, just waited while they stared at each other for the first time in, well, she wasn't even sure how many years. Boreas swallowed harshly, taking a single step forward, eyes locked on his brother who he'd thought dead, metallic gaze wavering. Aedh was looking at the ground, hands in fists at his sides, mottled white as he fought a shudder, obviously expecting the worse. She wasn't prepared for the sound of Boreas's voice when it croaked out, cracking with a riot of emotions that made her want to cry.  
"Aedh...little brother, is it you?"  
Aedh flinched as if struck, finally raising his gaze to his brother, going still as their eyes locked. He nodded shakily, and Boreas dropped her hand, taking a few steps forward, holding his arms up and open.  
"Little fire, I am so sorry -"  
She flinched at the sound, wide eyed at how fast Aedh had moved. It had been a blur as he shot forward suddenly as if the strings had been cut, launching himself at his brother. They collided and Boreas caught him, arms wrapping around him tightly while Aedh made a choked noise, hands digging into his brothers back, burying himself against his chest. Suddenly she felt like an outsider, and stepped back as quietly as possible, moving over to the sofa and sitting down as the rumble of Boreas's voice began a soft murmur, talking to his brother as he rocked back and forth. Tears were spilling from his eyes, matching the ragged breath she could hear from Aedh, who seemed to have lost all the stoic control he normally had. She was glad though, they needed this. Until they got done, she would sit right here, playing with this little book and pretending to be part of the furniture.  
She'd done her part for a while.

\---

Several hours passed while she engrossed herself in exploring the main room of Aedh's little underground home. The brothers had finally moved to sit down on one of the cushy chairs, and their low voices were soft murmurs in the background, something that soothed over her nerves of what this meeting could have ended up like. She was so enamoured of her exploration that she jumped three foot into the air when Boreas materialized at her side and touched her shoulder to get her attention.  
He chuckled, eyebrows raised curiously when she whirled to face him with a scowl. It melted instantly at the soft set of his features, how his eyes looked a little tired, a lot weary and still relieved.  
"We should return, we do not need them looking for either of us.."  
It was only fifteen minutes, after gentle goodbyes and tight hugs, that the two of them were walking back through the woods in the silence of the night, broken only by the sounds of the animals around them. She paced along beside him, keeping one worried eye on him. He had yet to speak, to say anything at all, to react to her bringing him here, and it was making her nervous as hell. Was he mad at her? Upset that she'd brought him without asking? Had she royally fucked up?  
"Boreas?"  
Her voice was tentative, soft, and he never flinched. She stared at him while they walked, him with his gaze on the ground just in front of him, metallic eyes unfocused. Reaching over she waved a hand in front of his face, and he never blinked.  
"Earth to Boreas.... heelloooooo?"  
She was really starting to worry, watching him brood, and she wanted some kind of answer, something!  
"Talk to me... Boreas... come oooonnn! Something!"  
Silence.  
"Damnit you rogue! Do _something_! Curse at me or laugh or yell or punch me I don't care but _do something_!"  
She stepped right in front of him, and he bumped into her, stopping with a soft huff of breath as he reached out to steady her, brow pinching in a frown, before he simply stepped around her and continued. Her jaw dropped as she stared after him incredulously, grabbing his arm and shaking him. He simply ignored her and continued. What the hell!  
"B-Boreas! Damnit, you.... I can't... "  
Her voice cracked and she ran in front of him, grabbing the lapels of his vest in a white knuckled grip. She couldn't help the tears that were threatening, making her throat tight as he just stopped, eyes moving up to hers, but he wasn't /seeing/ her, he wasn't focused, his mind a hundred years away. She shook him a little, breathe catching as she leaned forward and thumped her forehead against his chest and squeezed her eyes shut.  
"P-please talk to me! If I m-messed up just t-tell me! Yell at me or get mad or s-something but don't just... just ..."  
Her throat closed and she couldn't keep on, she didn't even know what to say, tears welling up to roll past her eyelashes. What could she do he was her friend and she didn't want to-  
"Aurora..? What is.. what is wrong?!"  
She jumped at his voice, his hands descending onto her shoulders as he spoke, and she whipped her head up to look at him. He was staring down at her in surprise and worry, but he was actually looking at her, and the relief made her lower lip tremble, and the damn finally break as the tears fell in earnest.  
"I th-thought you d-didn't want t-to talk to m-me a-anym-more!"  
"What?! Why would you- come here, hush little kitten come here all is well do not be so upset..."  
She barely resisted as he pulled her into a hug, winding his arms around her and holding her to his chest as she shook. His voice was a gentle rumble under her cheek as he spoke, reassuring her while he rubbed a soothing hand over her back.  
"Come now, all is well, I promise... I was merely thinking about all the things my brother had to say, nothing more... I did not mean to upset you so..."  
She nodded, to let him know she heard him, but she couldn't form much of a reply yet. The relief was overwhelming, as was the sudden embarrassment that she had basically freaked out. With shaky hands she rubbed at her eyes and cheeks with her sleeves, sniffling to stop the tears, not moving away from the heat of him, still half afraid he may change his mind.  
"Aurora..."  
She flinched, pressing her hands against her face to hide, and ignored the soft chuckle he gave.  
"Look at me kitten.."  
No way, she shook her head, and he sighed softly. Then his hands were coming up, pulling hers away and he grabbed her chin, tilting her head up, making her look at him. His eyes almost glowed in the moonlight, looking down with warm amusement, and she started to relax despite herself.  
"I am thankful you found my brother, and that you brought me to see him. For a great many things really... and you are my dearest friend, I would not so easily turn from you. Thank you, for that..."  
For what? She wondered, blinking slowly up at him, feeling strangely sleepy, almost lethargic suddenly, like it was creeping up on her out of nowhere. Surely she wasn't that tired. But then her attention was caught, eyes snapping wide as Boreas began to lean toward her, enigmatic gaze locked on her as her breath stopped in her throat. Her eyes fluttered shut as the world took on a dreamlike quality, hazy at the edges, too soft, unfocused, but she knew what was happening in a far off way. His lips pressed against hers, nothing but a soft, chaste kiss, something sweet and filled with a thousand words he didn't know how to say. Then she was melting against him, eyes too heavy to open, unable to do more than hum softly as he swung her up into his arms, and began walking again.  
"Rest kitten, and you shall wake in the sithen... I will handle the guards.."  
As she fell into the comforting dark, surrounded by the scent of autumn, crisp wind and dark earth, she felt safe, dreaming of metallic eyes, old stones and forests, and a fire that sprang up to dance through the fall air.

\----

Sweat was rolling down her temple, her back, even tickling down her ribs, and all her of muscles were protesting loudly. Despite the fatigue pulling at her, she swung her blade up again, catching the incoming blow before it could land. Metal sparks sawed through the air as she grunted with the strain of holding back the other sword, knees bent to help the shock, feet apart and balanced on her toes, back straight. Across from her there was a sliver of amusement in stormy eyes, right before they flashed and he moved again. She lost him for that split second, heard the barest whisper of movement and had enough time to fling herself forward to miss the next blow. It whistled over her head, sending air whipping her hair past her as she skinned her palms on the ground and rolled for the impact. When she faced up again, sprawled across the dirt, he was standing above her, eyes triumphant, cackling even, with the tip of his sword pointed at her neck. She could feel the top pricking her skin, but not breaking it, with every panted breath, and she glared up at him with the darkest, most defiant scowl she could muster.  
"Killed. Once again, _princess_."  
The rat bastard was sneering at her, using the nickname her _friends_ had given her as something fond but joking as a slur instead. Her blood was boiling, anger really starting to ignite under her skin at this filthy, wretched prick. She was going to find a way to kick his ass damnit.  
"Fuck off jackwit, you've got an advantage, remember? That's the whole point of _teaching_ me."  
Around them a few of the other soldiers snickered and he sent them dark looks that they ignored. Of course, if he were to really do anything, they would /probably/ intervene, but this had been ordered. Yeah, she had sort of asked for it she supposed.  
Last night, when she should have left Boreas to talk to Aedh and come back, she had just waited instead. By the time they had finished talking, it had been late, or really early actually. On their way back, after her own slightly embarrassing freakout, he had put her to sleep, the ass. He had then taken her to the princes rooms, put her in bed with Tristan, and stated she had fallen asleep outside, him finding her while walking around on a late night whim. Tristan had woken her up the next morning with a stern face and told her that she was going to learn how to fight a sidhe and train some like they had been, so that he didn't have to worry about her so much.  
She wasn't sure where the two connected, or how her hand to hand skills could be held up against a Sidhe who was four times as strong as her. Maybe it was just so he knew she could fight, and the wanted to put in more work later on working her magic into it. Whatever, she thought, the practice couldn't hurt surely, and she could do this, after all, she'd learned fighting was before she knew she had magic. So she knew she could make herself do this without any music to help.  
Albeit surprised to begin with, she hadn't worried too much about it. Hell, she could fight, honestly she could. But then all the guys had been busy, and he had left her with one of the other ranked soldiers out here in he training grounds, and this guy was turning out to be a real asshole. One of those 'privileged' Seelie assholes who thought himself better than everyone else. While that, quite obviously, included most of the others in the yard, they all still had to follow rank, and he'd been ordered to teach her how to fight by the prince. He couldn't balk it, but he could make her quit.  
Or so he fucking thought.  
Thing was, despite the fact that she'd earned most of the friendships she had made, which did in fact extend beyond the eight or so people she was always around, these were soldiers. Some of them knew her, some saw her in a positive light, and she'd made some good impressions up to now. Especially with some of her stunts about starting fights. But to earn respect of soldiers, which she did actually want to do, it took more than sleeping with the head honcho. Course, they didn't know it was literally only sleeping, just that she was the princes' consort, but still. She was also human, without their damned strength and speed, and just bowing up on one of them was going to get her ass handed to her.  
Hence why Tristan thought this was a good idea, somehow.  
He apparently didn't know this guy was a douchebag, and liked knocking around people less powerful than him, which she'd seen him do to several other younger looking Sidhe already. She wasn't going to lose what respect she /had/ earned by backing down from this asshole though, and while she'd wanted to step in for the others, that was the best way to get resentment going was having someone considered much weaker than you, a trained soldier, standing up for you like you couldn't do it, newbie or not. So she'd kept her mouth shut so far.  
She was also going to have a fuckton of bruises, scrapes, and welts by the time this was over, which Iridius could technically fix pretty easily, but that wasn't the point. The point was that she'd already been learning a good bit, watching this asshole bounce around like a bird, looking for a weakness. That's what her uncle had told her a long time ago, there was no such thing as perfect armour, there would always be a chink somewhere, if you could find it. They'd been at this for a couple hours now, and she wasn't stopping for lunch until she'd beat this sonofabitch and made the score one to fifteen, at least.  
Asshole, also known as Cainte by name, sniffed disdainfully at her and lowered his sword, stepping back to wait.  
"Come, get up and try again. Keep your form sharper, you must make up the difference by anticipating your opponents moves. You may not be as fast, but you can close the difference somewhat."  
She would admit, if only to herself and whatever ninth circle of hell she sent this bastard to, that he could teach. He had in fact taught her several things, it wasn't like she'd ever fought with a sword before anyway, just the occasional self defense class with knives, but if he could do it without being a condescending asshole, she'd certainly like him more. He could even be a tough hardass and bust hers to teach her, she'd been there before, hell she was friends with a sergeant or two at home, and they were all surly bastards. But they weren't usually rude, condescending, sneering, bitch cakes like-  
"Are you quitting then?"  
At least, not without reason. She huffed and pushed to her feet, no longer remotely worried about dusting herself off. After her third tumble into the dirt she'd given up on it, not that it bothered her. It was why she'd worn the special outfit Tristan had Marcellus make for her a while back, the ass kicking one with all the straps like the guards uniforms, and tugged on the legging type pants under the swinging cloth of the bottom so she didn't have to worry about flashing anyone. She'd come prepared because she'd known she would get her ass handed to her, repeatedly, but this motherfucker was really getting under her skin.  
The others had perked to see if she would stay down, openly grinning when she took a deep breath and raised her sword once more in the position he'd taught her to start in. Feet apart, knees bent, both hands on the hilt of her borrowed sword, eyes flashing as she tossed her head to get the hair that had come undone from her braid out of her face.  
"Not a chance in hell."  
His lips tightened, and he jerked a single nod, hands shifting on his own blade.  
"Alright, try again. .......begin."  
So this time, she listened to what he said. When he tensed, muscles moving in a blur, she caught it, and ducked. He seemed surprised when he came to a stop, poised to have hit her blade, blinking at her for a split second. She took the opportunity to swing at him. It was clumsy, too fast, too wrong, but he backpedaled and brought his up. They met in a clang, and he was staring at her in shock. She'd made him take a step back because he'd started to underestimate her, thinking her tired or close to giving up, but damnit she wasn't. Hell, it wasn't even a victory, it was one blow, one step, that he'd easily parried, but it was the first one she'd gotten in, and the guys in the semi circle around them let out a few low chuckles. She couldn't help the victorious grin, and his eye twitched. This time when he struck she never saw it coming, just found herself flat on her ass, arm stinging from the blow off the flat of his blade. Blade pointed at her throat, the tips of his white hair were vibrating with the anger she could see flushing his cheeks. He sent the others a thunderous look, which actually managed to make them shut up, and snapped back to her, nearly hissing.  
"Killed, again. What sort of consort are you to be for our Prince and future King if you cannot defend yourself from the simplest of blows?! You will be nothing but a liability! Get up, try again, try _harder_!"  
Fury darkened her vision as she curled her lip, snarling up at him as her cheeks flushed with shame at the truth of his words. Okay, maybe she'd managed to find his weakness, it was his pride, how he lost it when his temper was pricked by anything that wounded that fragile, over inflated ego. But she'd be damned if her own blood wasn't burning. Around them the few conversations had stopped, the soldiers pausing to look at their lieutenant with wide eyes. She could almost hear their thoughts, like dude, that _is_ still the Prince's consort. He'd stepped over a line she thought, but it didn't matter, it was / fight.  
She staggered to her feet and resumed the beginning pose once more, eyes narrowed in anger, concentration, and he smiled, a sharp flash of teeth under hard eyes, and twirled the end of his blade.  
"Come little _princess_ , is that all you can do?"  
Instead of waiting on him, this time she lunged forward, surprising him, but only for a second. He was, after all, a trained warrior, and while she'd had her own training, it was not the same. The realization struck her like a sledgehammer and she tripped, going farther when her blade missed him than she'd meant. It stood in her favor though because he swung where she'd been a second before, and she felt the cold, itching burn that opened up across her left shoulder blade where he'd grazed her. She spun to see him with a triumphant smirk that he wiped away almost too fast, circling her with his sword up, watching. Blood welled in a hot line and ran down her back, but nothing terrible, nothing severe. She could deal with this. In fact, as she turned to face him, she turned farther as he stopped, waiting, and followed through with the idea she'd just had. He might be trained, but so was she, even if it was in a different type of combat.  
"Bite me you pompous ass clown."  
He blinked at her for a moment, taken aback, then his eyes narrowed. She twirled the tip of her sword mockingly, body turned sideways in a stance she well knew, eyes on him.  
"M'not intimidated by bastards that pick on people smaller than them to get their rocks off."  
His eyes flickered, lips tightening, and she thought yeah, come on big boy. This time, she saw the move telegraphed in the lines of his body, knew where he was going before he started to move, and hit the ground. With one palm flat she hooked her foot around his ankle and slammed a kick into the front of his knee with the other. He gave a shout, toppling as she yanked, and then she was lunging at him. They collided despite his reflexes and tumbled through the dirt, weapons falling away to clang uselessly as they grappled. He swung at her, snarling, pissed off that she'd gotten a single hit on him, and she barely dodged the blow, feeling the tug and pain across her ear where he'd still gotten her just a little. Then she was using his momentum to flip him over, rolling to the side, coming up into a crouch, grabbing her dagger and flinging it with a flick of her wrist. It embedded where she'd aimed it, right beside his head in the ground where he had been about to jump back to his feet, and he went utterly still. Wide eyes locked on hers as they both panted, and she stared him down for just a moment, eyes challenging.  
They both flinched when the soldiers around them began whooping, snapped out of their stare down, and looked up to see them clapping and grinning. She flushed and relaxed, straightening slowly and moving over to the lieutenant, offering him a hand. He looked as if he would bite her fingers off, so she shrugged and dropped her hand, looking around at the others with half a smile. They were congratulating her, some throwing in comments towards the Sidhe still fuming on the ground. She was leaving, screw this. He could keep his dagger and sword there he'd given her for training with too, she didn't like them.  
"Yeah... thanks guys. I'm gonna go take a shower..."  
She stumbled as some of them clapped her on the back or shoulder, keeping in the hiss at the pain in the one side, and just huffing a few good natured laughs. So maybe she'd just made an enemy, it was possible, but with a shrug she ignored it. After all, it wouldn't be the first one.

\---

Iridius had nearly flipped his shit, but she'd made him promise not to say anything to Tristan before letting him patch her up. It hadn't taken him long, and then she'd returned to her room to shower and change. Now suitably clean again, she had plans to take her scuffed up outfit to Marcellus to see if he would fix it, and go grab a bite to eat.  
It was lunchtime, at least that was what her stomach thought. She halfway smiled, smoothing her hands over her dress. She really liked this one, a simple off the shoulder gown with a few small ruffles around the top, and a wide skirt that was light weight, cutting off at her knees. She'd even put the crystal flower in her hair, holding up one side with the clip on the underside. Other than that, the dress was a beautiful blue, the shade of one of the colors of Tristan's eyes, and the thought made her blush a little. Honestly, she told herself , stop it. She'd been thinking about him a lot when he wasn't around, and every time it made that strange kick in her chest with warmth that spread through her system, butterflies erupting in her stomach. It was silly, and she frankly didn't like it because it was strange.  
She turned away from the mirror with a huff at herself, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind her. What was she going to do for lunch anyway? She usually had it with the guys, but they were busy, the King was suppose to be back up and about today, so they were with him. Of course that was where Tristan was, and while she was curious -  
Music blared to life in her head, a sudden sound that had her spinning on her heel to stare down the hallway incredulously. It was a roiling mass, building with the white hot edge of anger, the howl of wind and rain, distant peals of thunder, and the churning roar of the ocean.  
 _That was Tristan._  
Before another thought could coalesce she was bolting down the hallway toward the sound, bare feet flying over the marble floors. Tristan didn't just get /mad/, he was calm, always, and so hard to jump to anger. So what had pissed him off?  
It took her a lot longer than she liked, as in nearly a whole minute, to make it to the courtroom. She could hear his music from beyond the doors, and she wheeled to a stop in front of the ward shimmering over the grand doors, and the two guards who looked at her curiously. She was half out of breath, and she tried to calm her racing heart, offering the two a sheepish smile.  
"Woo, was afraid I was late... uhm, so, is ah.. do y'all know if Tristan is in there?"  
The two shared an amused look before Caomh turned back to her and nodded.  
"Yes my lady, he is. We cannot let you inside through this door, but if you need to enter, you can always go around to the other doorway..."  
Blinking in slow dawning recognition, she finally beamed a bright smile at him.  
"Oh yeah! Holy shit I for- ah, thank you Caomh!"  
She barely saw him nod as she wheeled around and took off, racing down the side hallway. She'd all but forgotten about the other doorway, hell she hadn't been through it but a time or two since the first day she'd come to the court and she and Tristan had gone out that way. One guard stood beside this door, and she slowed her pace, as much as it bothered her to do so, running a hand over her surely wild hair as she trotted up. Soon as she saw him she relaxed and grinned at him, getting her an answering smile, with a tinge of surprise and question.  
"Hiya Sine!"  
"Good morning my lady... what brings you out here?"  
"I was gonna go in and see Tristan for a little bit..."  
The guard was taken aback, blinking slowly at her for a few moments, head tilted to the side, before he finally nodded as if remembering himself. She understood though, it wasn't like her to normally just show up at the courts.  
"Ah, right... yes of course. Well, he is in his throne beside his father on the dias, last time I checked... go right ahead my lady, just.. remember to be quiet if the king is speaking."  
She nodded, sending him a thankful smile, and slipped through the doorway as he opened it for her. It took only a moment to scan the crowd, the courtroom seeming fuller than usual she thought, Aurii and Morrigan on their thrones as usual, and Tristan in his to his fathers left. Boreas had his own throne set not too far from Tristan's, and hers was still sat just beside the princes. Stratos sent her a curious look and a small grin, and she almost went over to ask him what was up, but her eyes were glued to Tristan. He was currently acting a lot like his uncle, which was highly unusual for him.  
She could see he had on one of his tunics that was three shades of blue, starting with the lightest at the top and melting to the darkest at bottom, and she thought it was the one with a smattering of scales here and there with the pretty, polished sheen to them, the entire thing edged in intricate silver thread. Marcellus really was very good at what he did. But what had her staring was that he was slumped sideways, elbow on one armrest, fist propped against his temple, and was sprawled across the throne, one leg hanging from the other side, foot bobbing. She took another deep breath to compose herself, because it seemed that nobody else was aware the prince was throwing an internal temper tantrum, whatever the cause, and she wasn't going to give it away. Also maybe because she was staring at him.  
He was practically seething, even with his eyes closed, ignoring the proceedings, face almost relaxed, haughty, indifferent, but slightly flushed, tunic half askew with the top half open over his collar, and his riot of cerulean hair was loose about him, tangled over the throne and him without a care in the world. She wanted to know what had pissed him off, because his foot was bobbing faster, nerves strung taut, with a definite thunderhead hanging over his head. As she walked forward, hearing his music become a bit more muted, as if he were doing his best to tamp down his temper, she noticed a glint of something on his arm. It made her do a subtle double take, then she remembered.  
When he'd sent her off to practice that morning, he'd taken her clasp off her arm, returning it to his own bicep, opposite the other, saying that she could come get it when she was done with training. He had not wanted her to hit it, she thought, and she had more than happy to oblige, absolutely terrified of harming the thing, which had somehow become precious to her.  
She certainly didn't have to force the smile that curved her lips, though it was a little shy, it was warm, and she was half afraid it would show more than she meant for it to, like how happy she was to see him. The voices of the courts picked up in colorful murmurs as the last case finished, and as Aurii turned his back to speak to Morrigan, she padded forward towards the moody prince. She could barely hold back the laugh that threatened when she stopped in front of his throne, seeing him tense and his nostrils flare with temper, likely thinking his father was bugging him again, or whoever it was that had pissed him off to begin with.  
Before she even thought about what she was doing, because she really should have, she dropped down to her knees in front of the throne, just inside the leg he had flat on the floor, and set her chin on his knee, folding her hands together on the top of his thigh. His eyes snapped open as if she'd taesered him, focusing on her like lasers, and she could instantly see the storm clouds boiling in his gaze. It banked somewhat with surprise, eyes flaring wide as he stared at her. The bright smile she wore went a little shy, a little sheepish.  
"Hi..."  
He was still looking at her as if she'd grown a new head, and she tilted hers to the side a little in question.  
"So uhm, can I have my thingie-ma-jig back now?"  
His brows furrowed, and she was starting to worry, tension and a self conscious embarrassment starting to make the tips of her ears burn.  
"Your what?"  
"My... uhm... the thing, there! You never told me what it was called...."  
His gaze followed her pointing finger to the band on his arm, then whipped back, looking stunned as recognition dawned.  
" _You.. want it back?!_ "  
It was her turn to frown questioningly, suddenly unsure as she shifted, raising up a little.  
"Am I.... not s'pose to? I thought... this morning you said to come get it after training... didn't you?"  
She watched silent horror dawn over him, followed by some self conscious realization, and then shame as he dropped his head back against the throne with a thunk that made her wince. Boreas stepped up behind him, expression smug and triumphant, and she made a 'what the hell?' gesture that made him grin as he reached out to ruffle his nephews hair.  
"I believe my thick headed nephew forgot that particular scene, and after worrying himself for an hour, began sulling up thinking you had rejected him, and then became rather irate after a few nobles inquired about why he had his orubous back."  
Tristan had snapped up after Boreas began talking, swatting at him with a dark growl. It hit her then, after a moment, what exactly he'd said, and she began to giggle, slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle it. Both men paused to look at her, but it was getting to her, unable to help thinking about Tristan acting like a hormonal teenager because he forgot about something/he'd/ done that very morning. The Prince's face went sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck, and she couldn't help how it dissolved into full blown, helpless laughter that rang out across the courtroom like bells. She'd always had her mothers laugh, the one that could fill up a room, but she would never have said that it carried that contagious, beautiful lilt to it like hers, until now. Tristan's lips were twitching into a soft smile as he stared at her, Boreas grinning widely, and the three of them were ignoring the silent court room.  
By the time she could get her laughter under control, wiping at the tears spilling from her eyes, Tristan was smiling with relief. She shook her head at him and he slipped the band off his arm, lifting her hand and gently fixing it back on her arm where it belonged. His looked turned warmer, proud, and she flushed a little, unable to stop herself from nuzzling into his touch when he brought his hand up to trace her cheek with his fingertips.  
"Ah my flower... sometimes I am a fool..."  
"Oh you are not, you silly thing."  
She met his gaze with a shake of her head, and his expression was bashful, then he bit his lip, gaze flicking down and away.  
"You're not. And you're ... actually the smartest, most kind hearted man I know... even if you're a little silly sometimes..."  
Her soft laugh had him looking back up at her, eyes warming, and before she could even gasp he was swooping down, and she suddenly found herself on the receiving end of a toe curling, stomach flipping, brain melting kiss. When he leaned back, slightly out of breath and a little flushed, he gave her a blindingly bright smile that she had to return even though she was surprised and blushing hotly. His gaze was full of so many things, and she couldn't figure out what it meant, but it brought her heart to pounding, and her stomach to filling with a thousand butterflies.  
Just when she thought everything would snap, that something that would have to give, she was lifted into the air. She gave a shout of surprise, flailing out in a panic and grabbing onto the bear sized arms wrapped around her waist in a crushing hug.  
"Ahahahaha! Now that is what I like to see of my son and his consort!"  
She recognized Aurii's voice and stopped struggling, watching Boreas who was bent in half laughing, and Tristan who looked fondly exasperated, reaching to extricate her from his fathers too strong grip.  
"Father, please do not break my consort."  
Morrigan let out a light laugh, letting Aurii swing her up into a hug once Tristan had Aurora's feet back on the ground. Aurii was beaming proudly at them, turning to make a sweeping gesture towards them at the court, who broke into laughter and cheers. She flushed and edged a little closer to Tristan, who wrapped an arm around her back and tugged her against his side with a soft laugh.  
She really hadn't come in here for all this, but, standing there with Tristan, she found she couldn't quite make herself complain either.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh pouty teenaged immortals! Hehehehehehehe. I'm so terrible good lord.   
> Just so yall know, these characters are aliiiiiive. They are no longer things I make up, I just write down what they do, they're alive I tell you. I can't make this up anymore I'm just telling you what they're doing. xD


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY this took so long but it's a long chapter, the longest one yet so yay!

Aurora paced through the forest, fingertips grazing the trunks of several tall, lanky trees that swayed with the breeze, tinged a soft rose color with silvery leaves. As their branches shook, the flowers clinging to them dislodged, delicate little white blooms like cherry blossoms that danced around her and swept across the ground with a soft hush of sound. They matched, she thought, halfway noticing the grass beneath her feet which was a lighter shade than normal, closer to baby blue than its usual sapphire color. In truth, it was beautiful, soothing with the scents of new flowers and clear skies, dappled sunlight making bright patterns across the ground as she passed through. But despite its beauty, she was bored.  
No, that wasn't true, she was restless.  
That was different than being bored. After breakfast, Tristan had told her she had another free day, because he was still easing his father back into being full time on his feet, since he still had the occasional weak spell it seemed. She could understand, after all the man had nearly died from the attack, and Tristan had the right to worry about his own father. The knowledge that he wouldn't have so much to do after the next few days made her feel better, somewhat, but she was still on edge.   
It certainly wasn't because she was jealous, or that she missed the stupid loser fairy.  
Though she was understandably worried about everything else that was going on as well. The midsummer festival was coming up, in four days she thought, and it was making her stomach churn. She had a foreboding feeling about it, which wasn't good. Maybe she was only worried because she knew that meant it was that much closer to the day of the ritual, and she still didn't have a single clue who the last guardian was. She threw her hands up in exasperation, throwing out a comment to the whispers, or more correctly, the listening gods.  
"How am I suppose to find sunshine incarnate or whatever anyway?! Y'all said I already knew! Well I don't! A little help would be appreciated! You could always drop an answer out of the sky-aiii-aaihhhhhhhhhh!!!"  
She hit the ground, wide eyed, adrenaline spiking in a burst that had her blood screaming through her system in a skin tingling rush. A crash sounded behind her, several trees snapping in half under the weight of whatever had whizzed by her. She pushed up to her knees and turned to look, wide eyed as her hand went to the dagger at her thigh, halfway unsheathing it from the depths of the white dress she wore. Within the pile of branches, leaves, and flowers something moved, then gave an ear splitting yowl. She went still, recognition dawning at the sound just as the pile exploded outward with a gust of sapphire blue fire. The creature burst out with a small roar, tail lashing in aggravation, wings shaking to get rid of the flowers clinging to his scales.  
"Mythrandiel!!?"  
His wedged head snapped up to see her, bright blue eyes focusing on her with surprise, then happy excitement as he gave another roar that came out with a plume of smoke. It was strangely high pitched, and not very loud, but he'd grown since she saw him last. As he spread his wings and gave a mighty flap, launching himself at her with an exuberant trumpet, she squeaked in alarm and threw her hands up to catch him, breath punching out as he careened into her and sent them rolling. He was still smaller than chopper, but solid muscle as he wiggled and yapped at her when they came to a stop, standing on her chest and whipping his tail like he was wagging it. Her head was filled to bursting with his overwhelming joy that he'd -found- her finally, and he'd missed his friend, but she should meet his other friend too, but then oh no his other friend he had to go and -   
They both jerked their attention up at the sound of powerful wings pumping through the air, then the whistling dive as something swooped down from high above the trees. She was left blinking in a stunned stupor at her empty hands as the dragon was snatched out of her grip, and she quickly scrambled to get up. The figure landed just beyond her with a booming laugh that made her lips twitch in response, which she quelled with a flush of anger that started up from her spine that anyone would dare to manhandle her friend. But he wasn't, she realized as she paused, staring in jaw dropped awe. He was holding the dragon under his arms, almost cooing at him.  
"I caught you, little scamp! I win again! But now I must fix these poor saplings... you must be more careful little one..."  
The low timber of his voice sent her head reeling, and she couldn't believe it, staring at the broad back she'd noticed the other day at the training grounds. His wings, that snowy white expanse of feathers that she just wanted to touch, did indeed glitter up close, gilt edged and sparkling in the sun, looking so incredibly strong despite how delicate they should have looked she thought. That gold expense of hair was loose, trailing between them over white pants and a bright blue shirt that hugged thick muscles and hung on a tall frame, one she knew as a few of the twigs and flowers sifted out of said hair. Mythrandiel yapped at him happily, looking over his shoulder at her pointedly, and the Sidhe tucked the dragon under his arm as if it were the most natural thing in the world, turning with a bright grin aimed at her that faltered somewhat when he recognized her. His tricolored eyes went wide, the swirl of gold, sapphire, and emerald glinting mischievously as his expression warmed.  
"Aurora! Forgive me, the little one is a friend and we were playing a game, I fear he gets overzealous in his excitement sometimes, he is still young.... ah, Aurora?"  
She was still staring, even though she knew it was totally rude, she couldn't stop. His wings folded behind him as he bent to set Mythrandiel on the ground and then fluffed back out, spreading partially as he walked over to her. The dragon came to her side instantly, running around her in circles as she dropped from her knees to sit on her feet and look up at the sidhe.  
"Are you alright?"  
She nodded once, but his expression didn't change from the worry now clouding his features. Before she blurted out anything stupid, she shook her head, trying to clear it, and still managed to sound like an idiot.  
"Belanus, you - you have wings!"  
He blinked at her in surprise, turning to look at them where she pointed as if having forgotten, and then back, letting out a relieved laugh.  
"Ah, yes, I did not realize you had not seen them before... so, you are not scared of the dragon?"  
She turned her attention down to the baby that had rolled across her lap, currently rubbing his head, and his damned sharp, if still tiny, horns against her stomach and purring, then back up incredulously.  
"Ah, no. Why would I be afraid of Mythrandiel? Though I'm surprised, I thought all the Seelie didn't like dragons..."  
He chuckled, crouching down so he could reach out and scratch under the dragons jaw, getting him a contented hum as his hind leg began kicking in response. Her gaze was half trained on the Sidhe's wings, which flared to hold his balance at his movement, and he sent her a reassuring, if amused, smile when he caught her stare. Still, she could feel her face heating.  
"I am not too much like the rest... this little one has been my friend since the first time he wandered into my gardens. He returns to play often, and I always indulge him. He is a good one, as is his mother. Obviously you know the both of them if you know his name."  
"Yeah... I do. I visited Sareindiel a few days ago actually..."  
"Ah, making big friends then."  
She couldn't help the smile at his light teasing, curling one arm around the dragon when he stood and offered her a hand up. Unable to help it anymore she blurted out a question, sheepish and shy but too amazed at his wings despite herself.  
"What's with the wings though Belanus?"  
"Ahhh... they are just mine. I do not wear them out much while inside the Sithen.. even if I am considered one of them, they set me apart enough that I am looked at strangely, and I do not much like the attention. Of course, out here where I am at home, with the animals and the woods, I am more free to be myself."  
"I saw you training yesterday though!"  
"Yes, you did. I did not see you though, or I would have greeted you. I do attend the training sometimes to make sure I keep my skills sharp, and so the others know it as well."  
"That makes sense..."  
Mythrandiel squirmed around, and she let him loose, laughing as he clambered up her arm to curl his tail around her neck and lay across her shoulders, head lifted to look around. Belanus echoed the laugh, shifting on his feet and sending his wings to fluttering with a soft sound. This time when it captured her attention his voice snapped her back, warm and amused.  
"You may touch them if you wish, you will not hurt them."  
She blinked at him for three seconds, uncomprehending, before she gasped and lit up like a Christmas tree.  
"Really?! Like - they're just so cool! Can I really?!"  
His lips were twitching at her words as he turned sideways, and she stepped forward, awed gaze wide as she looked closely at them. Thick muscles roped down the main wing and attached them to his back through holes in his shirt, the bases mostly covered with puffs of fuzzy features that were shorter then the rest. She raised a hand, hesitating, glancing up at him as he nodded for her to go ahead. Tentatively she slid her fingers over the tendon, through the downy soft fuzz and into the larger feathers. She let out a delighted gasp as he flexed them, stretching the one she was touching out to its full length, and she couldn't quite help how she was basically petting them.  
"They're so beautiful Belanus... wow...."  
His chuckle was a little shy as he folded the wing away and turned again to see her, reaching up to rub the back of his neck while he grinned at her. She returned the smile brightly, and glanced at his arm as he dropped it, her world narrowing down as she caught sight of it, his words becoming far off and fuzzy. It suddenly made sense.  
Holy shit. Was she stupid? How could she have forgotten?!  
He trailed off in surprise as she grabbed his arm and head it up to inspect his forearm, watching her curiously.  
"Aurora....?"  
"Belanus it- it's you!!"  
"What is me??"  
She sent him a look and laced their hands together, wondering why his cheeks darkened slightly at the action, and then she called the music. There was no way she could forget the sounds of each element, every strand dancing loud and clear within her mind, swimming through her bloodstream forever now, and she knew how to reach it. Warmth flooded her body as the music changed, stroking warm fingers across her skin and heating her from the inside out. Belanus actually gasped in surprise as it danced down her arm and jumped across to him, the sunlight reflecting off their arms as molten gold glittered to sudden bright life. The runes lit up, looking liquid as they flowed, filling with power while she watched in awe.  
"Its you Belanus, you're the last guardian!"  
"The.. what?! I do not -"  
"We have to go tell Tristan!"  
"What? The magic - I do not understand-"  
"Come on! We have to go right now this is super important!! Him and Iridius can explain it when we get there, but we gotta go! Come on -"  
"It is quite the walk back my lady..."  
She sent him an excited smile that had him relaxing slightly, still confused, but she tugged on his arm.  
"Doesn't matter! We gotta hurry! He has to see this!!"  
Belanus looked at her a moment, unmoving despite her attempts, then he suddenly grinned. She paused, blinking at him suspiciously as he sent Mythrandiel a look and pointed up with a short whistle. The dragon crowed out with delight and leapt off her shoulder, scales glittering as he took off and flapped wildly until he caught the wind and circled up above them. Then the Sidhe turned his smile to her and nodded.  
"Alright then, if it must hurry, then let us go."  
"Uhm, okay sure lets - hey, what're you doin? Hey w-wait, no, B-Belanus no I don't - n-not that - b-but no!"  
Before she could spin and take two steps he was on her, arms wrapping around her to sweep her off her feet into a bridal carry despite her wild struggling and cursing. Then he looked up, crouched down, wings snapping out straight, and launched them up into the air. Her shriek of terror was almost drowned out by the strong beating of his wings and his laughter that rang out over the trees as he held her to his chest and circled once before turning them toward the sithen.

 

"Oh wow...."  
So despite her initial fear, once Belanus had her loosen her death grip on his neck enough to lean back and look around, she had to admit it was beautiful. The flight had evened out once he gained the altitude he wanted, wings moving at a slow, steady pace to keep them going. The land sprawled out beneath them as the wind poured over them, tangling through their hair and keeping her breath coming in great rushes of sound.   
Or maybe it was still the adrenaline and fear that kept her nerves shocking and jittery, even while she had calmed enough to stare at the scenery while they passed. One look at the sidhe's face told her all she needed to know; he was relaxed, smiling openly, eyes shining brightly with the freedom, the awe that came from flying. Belanus was truly in his element out here, flying under the sun like some ancient Grecian god sprang to life from the old books. His voice jerked her back to herself and she realized he was looking down at the Sithen.  
"I believe I have spotted your prince, hold on my lady."  
She tightened her grip convulsively as he snapped his wings closed and suddenly dived towards the ground. Every head in the training ground whipped around to see them whiz by overhead towards the doors of the solar as her shriek of terror and excitement broke through the air, echoed by the gardeners bellowing laughter. His wings snapped out feet before they hit the ground as he righted himself, alighting with several graceful steps to take the impact before he folded his wings at his back. Her heart faltered a the landing, and even as they stopped she had to force herself to breathe and unlock the death grip she had on the Sidhe. It had been totally awesome though and maybe she could talk him into taking her again sometime. With a relieved laugh she met his gaze, inches away, flickering with warm amusement as he smiled, and she opened her mouth to speak just as someone clearing their throat caught her attention.  
She turned to see Tristan, Boreas, Stratos, Wraith, Iridius, and Sine all standing in a small circle just outside the scholars great room. Instantly her eyes lit up, and she squirmed around until Belanus sat her down, steadying her when she wobbled with another laugh. Tristan's face was stone cold, set in utterly neutral lines, staring harshly at the gardener who followed behind her run at a more sedate pace. She just leapt forward and caught herself around the Prince's neck, entirely missing his expression, and the matching one on Boreas's face. Belanus pressed his hand to his chest and bowed at the waist, murmuring respectively, soft but enough to be heard under her ninety to nothing excited rambling.  
"Your highnesses, my lords..."  
"I found him Tristan! He was here the whole time and I didn't know I feel like so stupid because I forgot they were there and I saw them and he's HERE! Its Belanus its so cool and he has wings - did you know he had wings?! - that's so awesome oh my god - but yeah its him its him its HIM!!!"  
Tristan's hands shifted on her thighs where he'd automatically caught her, leaning back enough to look at her curiously, brow furrowed and ocean eyes questioning. The others were looking on with amused expressions, Stratos giving a suspicious sounding cough as Wraith stoically slapped him in the back as if he needed it.  
"Whatever are you talking about darling??"  
She was actually bouncing in his hold, so relieved and positively giddy about her find.  
"I found him! He's been here this whole time and the gods were right I always knew - but I just forgot - and then I told them to help me out some and they thought it was kind of funny to use my own saying against me because I asked them if they thought the answer was just gonna fall out of the sky and it did or Mythrandiel did anyway and then he did and - did you know he was friends with Mythrandiel?! - but I found him and it worked so I know its - mmfff!?"  
Apparently he couldn't think of any other way to get her to shut up, and she cut off with a muffled sound of surprise as Tristan moved as quick as lightening. She never felt the shift as he let go to snake his arm around her waist and hold her tight, moving his other hand up to her neck to yank her forward into a kiss. She could only sit there in surprise for a beat before she practically melted against him, threading the hands she already had around his neck into his hair, earning her a low rumble while sparks zipped across her nerves. Finally breaking the kiss, he leaned back to give her a self satisfied smirk as she sighed dreamily, thoroughly dazed when he sent a look over her shoulder at the gardener.  
"Try that once more, will you kitten?"  
His voice was a velvet purr that had her wanting to roll over him like a cat, but she refrained, just barely, as he moved his hands back to her thighs. She answered while she glanced over at Boreas, who looked like he was trying desperately not to laugh, and then at Iridius, which finally reminded her of what she'd been talking about and she perked up again. Grinning brightly she popped her hands on Tristan's cheeks and laughed as he snapped his gaze back to hers incredulously.  
"Belanus is the Light Guardian!!"  
"He is?!"  
"Are you certain??"  
"How did you know?"  
Between the loud chorus of everyone talking at once, Tristan let her slip to the ground and she turned just as Belanus snapped. His wings whipped out to their full length with a crack like lightening, his normally calm rumble a deafening bellow that caused the others to instantly fall silent.  
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"  
Mouth opening and closing several times, she tried to come up with an easy way to explain, then snapped her fingers.  
"I know! Hang on!"  
All eyes turned to her as she twisted to face the door to the solar, cupping her hands around her mouth and letting out a three note whistle. The others shared curious looks as she straightened, obviously waiting on something, and all stared in surprise when she clapped her hands and cooed at the empty doorway. Just then the sound of something like a marble rolling across the floor reached the others, and Merlin's crystal ball came bouncing down the steps, halting gently in front of her feet. Tristan's jaw was hanging as she picked it up, turning back and cradling it in her arms. It made her huff a soft laugh, and she tapped her finger under his chin as she walked back by to make him snap it closed with a dull blush, him sending a glare at the others when they snickered softly. All except Belanus were used to her already, but he continued to stare in awed silence, tricolored eyes locked on the crystal in her arms as she stepped up to him, and held it up and out toward him.   
"This will explain. You know what this is...?"  
It was more rhetorical, but his gaze slid up to hers at the question, nodding once as if he could not believe the answer he was giving. She kept her voice soft, eyes reassuring, because the poor thing looked as if he might bolt, or faint, feathers shivering behind him with his sudden nerves.  
"I've been tasked with getting the elemental artifacts back to their rightful owners Belanus... and you are one of them."  
Surely he could hear the confidence in her voice, the way her shoulders were relaxed, gaze calm, hands steady around the crystal. The gods voices whispered softly though her mind as she took a breath, seeing him pale before stammering a disbelieving response.  
"M-me?! I c-cannot possibly be - be.. a.... a Guardian!"  
Without turning, she held her hand out behind her with a wiggle of her fingers, shifting the crystal ball to one side against her hip.  
"I will show you. Wraith?"  
Seconds later a warm touch slid around her palm and she tugged him forward, sending him a small, thankful smile as she stopped him across from an increasingly nervous Belanus. Wraith braced his feet slightly apart and waited as she held up the crystal between them at chest level, following the whispered instructions that nudged her without any words she could understand, only feelings. With one more breath she opened her senses and called forth the shadows, the lingering dark that seeped around the corners and in the depths of night just out of sight. The runes upon Wraith's arms flared to life, but were slightly different this time, more like tiny pinpoints of darkness written against his grey skin, the edges fluttering with a black mist that began to coil down his arms. He raised one hand, pressing his fingertips against the crystal ball, and they shot down and around the ball, leaping onto her arms like a magnet. As soon as they did, matching runes flared to life on her arm nearest him, spots of tingling cold that shivered against her skin. But then she could hear them again, as the shadows around them in the clearing lengthened, rustling and slithering in a vague circle around everyone. She could just barely see the figures, who seemed filmy and almost transparent in the light of day, and she wondered if that was the cause of the differences.   
Still, she sent them a bright smile of greeting, noticing that Belanus seemed almost fearful, moving sporadically to try and keep them all in his sights, wings shifting closer to his back protectively. She reigned in her concentration so that she could call the next element, but just like it had been before when Llyr had shown her, it came almost too easily. The softest chiming of bells rang through the clearing as she breathed to life the music of the sun, radiant and warm as it spilled through the air on dancing beams. It made her smile wider when the very sky brightened above them as if the sun itself had turned its attention on them. Beside her Belanus made a sound of shock, looking up, his wings slowly unfurling as if he couldn't help himself. The runes on his arm glittered to life, glowing boldly against his tanned skin, dripping light down his arms like liquid gold. A shudder shook the warrior, and he looked at her as his too wide eyes began to spark.  
"It is alright Belanus, come.."  
He looked up and back, taking a small step closer like a child clinging to its mother, raising one hand tentatively. Wraith offered the other man a reassuring smile, but more sounds caught their attention. As the clearing filled with the two powers, there was the sound of wings fluttering and hooves clicking against the ground. They each looked to find that in between the creatures of shadow that came at Wraith's call were now more, responding to the burst of bright music the same way, creatures of light. She stared at them in wonder as she had the others when they had first appeared, catching glimpses of snowy wings, gilt edged feathers, iridescent manes, and fiery eyes. Wraith's low voice snapped her from her staring, and brought her attention back as well as Belanus, who seemed to be itching to go out amidst the circling creatures.  
"Come my brother, as it always is, where there is shadow there should also be light.."  
Belanus looked stricken, clearly torn about what to do although she couldn't fathom why. He licked his lips and moved his hand forward, closer to the crystal, which suddenly let out the peal of a bell. Everyone stilled, and she stared, hands moving to keep hold of it as it began to melt and change. The surface of the crystal went liquid, reforming into a flat, round mirror that stood steadily in her palm, with Wraith's fingertips still pressed to one side. Dark runes wrote themselves into existence around the edge, tinting the mirror slightly darker, but as she looked on the other side, it seemed to glitter with golden highlights, bright runes mirroring the others curving along the edges where they gleamed invitingly. She could just barely see through it to the other side, where Wraith's fingers stay still, waiting, and she looked up at Belanus who seemed to be in awe. He swallowed, finally moving forward again, and she could hear the hum growing in pitch as the two songs grew closer, trying to entwine together, the wind picking up around them with a whisper of approval, and -  
"I cannot! Please - I am sorry!"  
Belanus's sudden cry made them all flinch, and he was whirling, wings snapping out to launch him off the ground and into the air.  
"Belanus - wait!"  
She barely heard her own voice as he bolted through the air, back the way they'd come, and without her concentration the music slipped away, the wind settled, and the creatures slowly faded back to where they had been. Looking down at the sudden weight in her hands, the crystal had reformed into a ball, sitting solidly as if it had never moved. Why had he left?! What could she do?  
"Wraith... I... guys? What.... why?"  
She turned to the others as Wraith let his hand fall to his side with a deep sigh, and he turned to look as well, seeing the confusion across all their faces. But Sine looked sympathetic, and she looked at him.  
"What did I do wrong Sine?"  
The braids in his hair clinked as he turned to face her, and suddenly he looked sad, his normally bright emerald and golden eyes dimmed.  
"I fear his past comes back to haunt him my lady, it was nothing you did... perhaps I can speak to him soon, but we should allow him some time to cool off first."  
Her shoulders still drooped, but Wraith lay a consoling hand on her arm. She didn't know what else to do except nod, and clutch the crystal ball to her chest tightly.  
"Well... okay... so..."  
Boreas stepping forward in the sudden silence with an attempt to lighten the mood, his voice soft.  
"Perhaps we could continue then, with what I was going to show everyone before... I am sure you would like to see it as well Aurora.. surely the trainer is still waiting on us."  
Tristan sidestepped in his short journey to reach her side, avoiding it as her head snapped up, eyes narrowing to pinpoints on the UnSeelie King who went a little sheepish.  
"Is this about Chopper.....?"  
"Perhaps..."

 

What none of them expected was to find the entire training field standing still, weapons drawn and standing ready as if they were going to attack whatever was in the center of the field that they had all formed a large circle around. Tristan strode forward, Boreas on his heels, and she caught sight of that side of Tristan that he showed sometimes, shoulders straightening, chin up as he barked out a question.  
"What goes on here?"  
She scurried along behind them, wide eyed as Stratos, Wraith, and Sine put their hands on their weapons, looking for the threat. The nearest soldiers whipped around, sagging with relief at the sight of the prince and the UnSeelie King.  
"Sir! This - this -creature- came barreling out of the sky and attacked the young pup and -"  
"MY YOUNG PUP?!"  
Her shriek caught all of their attention, causing the soldiers to peel apart as she started forward with a thunderous scowl. Boreas snagged hold of her arm as Tristan stepped in front of her, and she growled at them.  
"We will see flower just wait a-"  
A loud growl rose, mixing with another yap that trailed off into a howl. They all turned, and with them distracted she danced around the prince and shot forward despite his yell. Just as she made it past the ring of soldiers she stumbled to a stop, partly because her jaw fell open in utter shock at the scene before her, and partly because a fist was suddenly wrapped in the back of her dress.  
"What the absolute fuck."  
"When will you learn to - is that ...?!"  
The soldiers gave cheers as they saw their prince, snapping her attention around to them.  
"Prince!"  
"Give us the order sir!"  
"Yes! Let us take care of this mongrel!"  
"Who are you calling a mongrel asshole!?"  
The soldiers continued calling out to the prince, unheeding of her snarled response. Tristan let go of her since there was no threat, and she looked back to try to figure out what exactly was going on in the center. Chopper, that same collar still gleaming around his neck, stood with feet braced apart, head lowered, hackles raised, lip curled as he snarled threateningly, eyes narrowed on the form in front of him. Across from him, mirroring the stance, was Mythrandiel, white scales glimmering, whose wings were spread wide behind him as he picked up one clawed paw and raked at the ground, smoke pluming from his nose as he snorted.   
She was glaringly reminded of a bull getting ready to stampede, watching the young dragon, just a bit shorter and perhaps thirty pounds shy of Choppers size, stare each other down. Without another thought she stomped forward, fingers curling around the crystal as she barked at them.  
"Chopper! Mthyrandiel! Just what the hell are yall doin?!"  
Both animals whipped around, faces lighting up at the sight of her, and she was instantly bombarded. Too much excitement, too many words and images flashing through her mind causing her to stumble. But two things came through loud and clear: /new friend/ and /play/!!!  
"Really?!"  
Her jaw dropped as she stared at them incredulously, halfway over to them in the circle. Without hesitating both of them began to wag their tails with a chorused agreement, and she growled. Around them the Seelie soldiers began to shift, bringing their weapons up at the ready, and her attention turned to them.  
"What the hell are the lot of you doing?! Are you scared of a fucking baby dragon? Really? What is wrong with y'all?!"  
There was a snort from the direction of her guards, and she pointedly ignored them as Tristan and Boreas moved forward towards her, stopping close by in a quiet show of support. The soldiers all shifted, sharing looks between them, and back at her. She snapped her fingers at Chopper, without looking at either of them. The two animals bounded over and circled around her feet, Chopper raising up to prop his paws on her hip. Mythrandiel cocked his head at the movement and copied it with a bark of sound, and she wavered, likely only held up by the weight on both sides.  
"This is what y'all are afraid of? Seriously? No, see, -she- is what y'all should be afraid of, and right now she thinks its funny."  
At the funny looks, she hooked her thumb over her shoulder towards the sound of familiar music, raising an eyebrow, and the circle of soldiers followed her gesture. Beyond the treeline and a few miles out, settled atop a low hill, something shifted at the sudden attention, regally raising her head. Wings stretched out with a lazy swipe of air and a plume of fire erupted, followed by a curl of smoke. Aurora raised her hand with a wave, and the long tail came up, the tip flicking in a responding wave, and the baby dragon crowed out with delight before dropping to run in circles around them. The soldiers all gave shouts of surprise and Aurora couldn't help the laugh as several brought their weapons back up at the ready.  
"He ain't gonna be far from his momma, but they're both friendly, at least if you don't provoke her... although I'm still not sure why an entire field of trained soldiers were freaked out by a little dragon.."  
A few of the soldiers lowered their weapons, some slowly sheathing them, while a few of them snorted and others gave low, nervous laughs. It did not go unnoticed that some of them were far more reluctant to put away their swords, casting suspicious glances at the dragons and giving her dark glares. Boreas sent them all a grin, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"Ah, she is sweet, do not worry for her. I assure you her bark is much worse than her bite, although her fire is rather ferocious."  
Another plume of fire erupted, the ground under their feet shaking slightly with a rumble that passed as a laugh, more than loud enough to reach them from her perch miles away. It startled some of the soldiers, but after a few moments, and the urging of the prince and king, they finally went back to their usual spots, and the noise of the training fields resumed as if it had never diminished. She looked down in time to see Chopper sit down, head held high, and be knocked over by the overly excited dragon. Mythrandiel barreled into him and they tumbled through the dirt in a tangle of limbs and flailing wings. When they came to a stop and scrambled up, the young dragon decided to apologize to his 'new friend' by licking from his shoulder up the side of his neck. Chopper yelped, sent the younger animal a scathing glare, and picked up his paw, shoving him over. When he went sprawling with a bray of laughter, Chopper turned to look at her again, and she dissolved into helpless laughter. His fur was slicked straight up in clumps where the dragon had licked him, laid flat in others, and his ear sat perked up instead of bent as usual. The look of utter disgust on the pit bulls face was priceless, and she fell against Tristan laughing.  
"I-I'm sorry - he just - oh god.."  
Chopper continued to glare, but she knelt down and called him over. He grudgingly came, and she petted him soothingly, smoothing down his fur and murmuring to him, looping an arm around his neck, and then the dragons. When Tristan finally said something, she looked up with the animals leaning against both sides of her, nearly dwarfing her, and grinned impishly.  
"I can always count on you for something to happen, can I not my flower?"

 

As the lot of them were walking back inside, Tristan slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close against his side, and let out a sigh of relief. She tilted her head to look up at him in question, but on her other side, Boreas answered before she could.  
"Somehow, my nephew, I doubt that we were lucky enough that not a single one of them recognized the crystal for what it is."  
She jumped, looking down at the crystal held tightly to her chest, and realized with horror that he was right. Damnit! They couldn't find out, not until after the big ceremony, because then the wrong people would find out! Despite his niceties, she was sure that Aurii, and Morrigan, would lock her away in the deepest dungeon they had with the orders for her to figure out a way to retrieve the lost crown for him. Of course, she'd not be there long, because Llyr would hear about it, bust her out, and secret her away so she could pull all the artifacts and the crowns together for /him/!  
"My flower, do not worry so. We will handle it as it is needed."  
Whipping around to look at Tristan, she held his gaze a moment, trying to draw some sort of comfort from the confidence in those sea blue eyes. The worst part? It was kind of working.  
Was she insane?

\---

 

"Aurii... what an unexpected surprise.."  
The Seelie King swept into the room with a rumble of laughter as the door opened, practically beaming at the other sidhe who stared at him oddly.   
"Yes, yes, I know! I meant it to be.. I came because I need your help with something! And it must stay a secret, but I know you are very good with those, yes?"  
Aurii's robes swept the stone floor, kept pristine as always, when he turned to regard the other man. Quickly he huffed a short laugh, realizing the King had meant his words to be funny, although they were not. Not at all.  
"Ah, yes, quite true my lord... so, what can I help you with?"  
He pushed the great oaken door closed on silent hinges, moving forward past the low seats of his room and farther in to where he had been sitting at his bellows and benches, working away on some twisted pieces of metal littered with gemstones that would one day resemble some sort of jewelry. As he sat down, the King followed, one hand idly stroking his fiery beard, bright eyes looking around intently, shrewdly, and he inwardly bristled.  
"Well.. I require your services for a gift."  
Instantly he deflated, reaching up in mild confusion to scratch at his head and let out a sigh. What was the old fool on about now? When he received no further explanation he realized he would have to ask. Pompous, useless old-   
"Can you give me a bit more of a description than that?"  
"...oh? Oh! Yes, quite! I wanted a gift for my lovely wife, for the midsummer festival.. some beautiful little jewelry, something unusual perhaps, that would suit her..."  
He had to look down at his work, brushing some pieces aside to hide the expression of near contempt and disgust, before he could school his features back into a pleasant mask. His mind wandered a moment as the king walked around, merrily rattling off ideas and 'helpful' advice, and suddenly, he had an idea. It made him sit up, staring into the roaring fires of his forge for a moment as the plan took hold, and he spun around to face the other Sidhe with a brilliant smile.  
"You know, I think I have the perfect idea! If you will come the night before the festival I shall have it done."  
Aurii boomed out another laugh as he clapped a heavy hand onto the other mans shoulder, nodding merrily as if he had solved all the problems in the worlds for him.   
"Wonderful, wonderful! I knew you would be able to help me with this! You do know her surely as well as I, as her dear brother Llyr."  
"Of course my lord, it is no problem."  
No problem at all.

\---

 

The group of them filtered into Tristan's room at her request, the guys low voices reaching her as she stepped into her room and started to set the crystal ball down on the table in her own adjoining room. As her hands left the surface of the crystal a soft ping of sound followed the motion and she paused, glancing curiously at it.  
"What?"  
It rolled side to side within the circled nest she'd made it out of a blanket, and the sound turned into a plaintive whine. She put her hands on her hips in exasperation, scowling at it.  
"What, really? Well I don't need to carry you around, for one you're not exactly light, and for another you're too obvious this way!"  
It shuddered again, and suddenly shrunk with a zip, down to the size of a baseball. She stared at it incredulously, watching it roll happily around in the space it had been completely taking up seconds before, and finally sighed. When had this kind of ridiculous, and rather insane, type of thing become commonplace to her?  
"Alright fiiiiiine, but your staying in my pocket for the most part... maybe I can see Marcellus about making a loose wire wrap and I can hang you around my neck like a pendant... but only if you promise not to change shape and choke me to death out of nowhere!"  
The crystal gave a happy trill of sound at her as she picked it up, what she was taking as an agreement, and she dropped it into her pocket as she turned. Her eyes caught on the familiar dark outline next to it that nobody seemed to notice except when she held it, and she stopped once more. After a second of thinking she reached out to pat the edges of the cauldron, glancing inside as the six little flames danced merrily at her.   
"I'll remind them about you in the next few days... I promise. I just.. there was so much going on the day I brought you home, and since then there's still been so much other stuff..."  
A deeper hum than that of her crystal resonated from within it, and she smiled. Just as she opened her mouth to say something else, a sudden silence in the other room caught her attention, and she hurried over to the doorway to see what it was. There was at first a tide of relief, but then a strange wave of uneasiness slid through her as she noticed the tense set to all the guys, and the way the maid, who had surely just come in, seemed far too serious.  
"....guys? Belle? Whats wrong?"  
They turned at her voice, and she walked over to stand between Boreas and Tristan, eyeing them curiously. Belle seemed a bit nervous, Tristan agitated as he turned his gaze to her, and Boreas was still staring at the maid, thin lipped with annoyance.   
"It would seem that Belle has come to report that word of the return of Merlin's Crystal is already spreading across the Sithen."  
She gasped, looking at the maid with wide eyes, who nodded, seeming more than a bit strained herself.  
"And not all of them are whispers of happiness, but some are of fear, and others anger that it came back to a human..."  
Aurora looked up at Boreas's muttered words, seeing the ire flashing in his eyes, and laid a calming hand on his arm.  
"It'll be alright Boreas, don't worry about it.... maybe we should go have an audience with your dad Tristan..? Wouldn't it better for us to go ahead and try..?"  
She turned to Tristan and he looked more than a little upset with the prospect but he finally sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.  
"I... will think on how best to approach the situation... but not right this moment, I know he is with Marcellus, getting several of his clothes refitted and getting new ones and his outfit for the Midsummer festival made."  
She nodded, leaning against his side in a quiet show of support, and comfort, in an effort to ease the lines of worry that had appeared between his brows. He sent her a small quirk of lips at the gesture, but he continued looking at the ground while he snaked his arm around her shoulders. What she kept to herself as the others heaved sighs of relief, or maybe worry, was that she thought he was probably just putting it off because he didn't want to talk to his dad about it. But she wondered how the King would react, since he'd told her in confidence about his plans to step down from being king.   
They would find out soon.

\---

"Marvellous! This will be perfect!"  
Marcellus stood back and gestured, sweeping the bolts of fabric off and back into a specific spot so that he could put the outfit together once he returned to his work shop. For now, he had a few more alterations to check, since the King had decided on his special outfit for the Midsummer Festival. Aurii turned to watch him, stroking his beard thoughtfully, and finally nodded with a hum as he sent another glance over the endless amounts of fabric, threads, and gems scattered out for him to choose from.  
"Good Marcellus, I trust your opinion on the matter, and your skills to make the perfect ensemble."  
Marcellus turned with a grin aimed at the other Sidhe, cut off before he could answer as the door to the King's chambers came open and slammed back against the wall with a bang of sound. As the King turned, eyebrows raising curiously, Marcellus shrank slightly, eyes wide at the sight that stormed through the door. Biting power rolled through the room ahead of her path, stinging bites that moved in flurries with the scent of a spring shower, small bursts of light arcing here and there around her. Aurii only frowned, though it was only because he was more powerful than the other Sidhe and was not afraid. Marcellus was though, because he was not stupid. Despite the fact that the great Queen of the Seelie Sidhe was a power of life and spring, not something that was normally associated with a dark or terrible power, when the Queen's ire was up, she was a force to reckoned with.   
Her platinum hair was loose around her shoulder, lifting in the wind that surrounded her, the bright colors of her eyes shooting sparks, and light danced under her golden skin as she fisted her hands and stopped before the king. Her gold and white dress swirled around her legs, jewelry clanking together with her motions as she bared her teeth at her mate to show her temper as if the rest were not a powerful enough indication.  
"Aurii!!"  
"Yes, my beloved?"  
"Why are you standing here getting your clothing fitted when the courts are ready to come down around our ears?! How can you- "  
"What, by all that is holy, are you talking about my beloved?"  
The queen paused, glancing at him suspiciously as he huffed and asked the question. She finally swung her gaze around to Marcellus, who was watching intently with open curiosity.   
"Gather your things and get out tailor, I must speak with my mate!"  
Marcellus jumped into action instantly with a stammered apology, quickly directing all of his things to start packing back inside his bag. While he was turned away, his ears perked at the sound of her hissed voice.  
"You truly do not know? You have not heard?"  
"I assure you my dear I have not heard a single whisper of anything I think would upset you so."  
"...the whispers among the servants, that has apparently come straight from the training fields and the soldiers who saw it first hand, is that the Crystal ball of Merlin has returned!"  
The king's eyes lit up with excitement, and for some reason relief. The Queen's scowl deepened, and she snapped out the next part without hesitation.  
"But it has returned to our son's consort!"  
Aurii's shock was obvious, and the queen preened.  
"Exactly! After all this time, to a human! And that one in particular!"  
Marcellus had frozen with shock, but he quickly began moving again, hurriedly trying to finish packing everything away without drawing attention to himself. Did she mean the crystal ball had come to Aurora?  
"Well my dear it was foretold that it would return, I think it has been long enough-"  
"How can you say that? Do you not know what will happen if those prophecies come true?! And are you not concerned with /why/ our son has not come to us with this information?"  
Marcellus quailed at the way the King's face suddenly darkened, and he bowed once, knowing the King would see the gesture, before he rushed out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him. In the hallway, he paused, chewed his lip thoughtfully, and looked around. There was no one else in the halls, the guards were all elsewhere, and before he talked himself out of it, he stepped back up to the swinging doors and the crack down the middle, listening intently to the argument that was steadily rising in volume.   
"What exactly are you saying my dear mate?"  
The Kings voice was dangerously quiet, the simmering burn of a fire before it grows out of control, and Marcellus felt cold creep down his back despite the heat that was now swirling through the other room and seeping out under the door.  
"I am saying that our son has been spending an awful lot of time with that human! He has stood up and yelled at me, /at me!!/, several times, disagreeing with his own mother and putting his faith in that frail little /child/!"  
"You mean like when she saved my life with her knowledge of medicines against your decision to let the healers continue to try their magic that was not working?"  
At his question the queen hesitated, and Marcellus swallowed, wondering if she was suicidal.  
"Yes! I did not know that it would work, I thought it would make you sicker, or perhaps kill you! But there have been other times, other things as well! He turns from us Aurii! And he continues to keep company with my brother, that alone should - "  
"Should want? Worry me? Because /he/ makes friends with the last remaining member of your family that has not tried to slaughter him or someone else?"  
"Aurii!!!”  
"Well?"  
"That is n-not - do not bring /him/ into this! You know better than to speak of him, that was different!"  
"Quite."  
"I am telling you, we should confront him and find out why he is sneaking behind our backs -"  
"You mean you wish me to speak to my son, and find out if he is a traitor to the crown?"  
"Yes! Becau-"  
Marcellus jumped at the sound of a hard bang, a gasp and wheeze, and the sudden snarling voice of the King as heady power filtered through the door.  
"Aurii what are -"  
"He is /our son/, unless you have forgotten, and that is /your brother/ you accuse him of conspiring against us with! That /human/ you are speaking so contemptuously of has saved my own life, as well as having done several other things for our people since she has been here! Her deeds already outweigh yours Morrigan, and if Merlins crystal found her worthy to wield it, then she is the first one to have been worthy in centuries since his disappearance!"  
"But Aurii that prophecy speaks of our downfall! Of the courts and everything we have upheld being thrown away! And our own son is -"  
"One more word against /my/ son, and I will throw you to the dungeons."  
There was a moment of tense silence where Marcellus gaped at the closed doors in stunned surprise, jaw hanging open.  
"Good. Now then, I am, and have always been, well aware of the fact that you married me for political means to gain power, -"  
"Aurii that is not-"  
"Do not try to lie to me, /my beloved mate/, for I well know the truth. I have grown overly fond of you over the years, but much happened before your entrance into my own life. Such as Merlin, his foretelling of the return of his crystal, and many things thereafter. I know what I must do, and will do, to ensure that it happens. The happiness of my son, my people, and their continued lives, depend upon it, and you will not jeopardize that with your greed for power."  
"I- I am /Queen/ here! You will not- "  
"/I AM THE CHOSEN KING OF THE SEELIE SIDHE/!"  
Marcellus nearly fell over, slapping his hand over his mouth to keep in the gasp that nearly passed his lips as his knees knocked together in fear at the kings roar. He almost tripped over himself as the walls shuddered with the force of the King's wrath, marble dust pluming down from the ceiling in lazy spirals.  
"/YOU/ BECAME QUEEN WHEN I TOOK YOU AS MY MATE! You were not /chosen to rule/, and /will not/ rule once I step down after the Midsummer festival, just before the next time of the Carminium Rituum! I do not care for your want for power, and you will not sabotage the one chance at my kingdom, and more importantly /my only sons/ happiness, for your greed!"  
"Aurii I -"  
"/Do you understand me/?"  
"But you do not -"  
There was another thud, one that was quickly followed by the scrabbling of feet against the ground, and a wheezing gasp that seemed to be growing fainter as a few terribly long seconds ticked by.  
"I asked you a question: Do you understand me, Morrigan?"  
The Kings voice had gone quiet, a whip of venom that dripped with the controlled fury behind it. After a moment there was a heavy gasp, as if the pressure had been relieved, and a few coughs, before the queens raspy voice answered.  
"Y-yes, Aurii, I understand."  
"Good. Then I will go and speak to our son of this new development shortly, and find out what exactly is going on in my court. I suggest you go find somewhere to calm yourself down."  
Before anything further was said, Marcellus sprinted off on silent feet, getting around the corner of the hallway seconds before the doors creaked open and shut softly, and he was still going as fast as he could, a hundred things bubbling through his mind with a thousand more questions. 

 

The King paused on his way to speak with the head of his guard, giving him a soft order with a pat on his shoulder, before moving on towards the kitchen for a snack and something to drink. The tall sidhe turned to his second in command to pass down the order and whirled on his heel to follow the King without another word, as if the calm demeanor of his long time friend could have fooled him as to his internal temperament. The second soldier continued after his order to post up watch outside the royal couples bedchamber, only to check inside on the queen if she called for him.   
When he took his stance outside the door, he sighed, crossing his arms, and settled in. He'd been there for some of the couples fights before, and this sounded like a bad one. From inside the room came the screeching of an absolutely furious female, and the crashing and slamming of everything inside the room as she lashed out in temper echoed off the walls. He had no idea of what they had fought about, but it had been a big one this time.  
Several minutes passed before the queen gave a mighty shriek of frustration, and one more giant smashing of something that made even him wince, before she fell silent. He sighed, well used to this occurrence.  
What he did not know, was that the soft click inside the room was the panel of stone closing a hidden door behind a tapestry, and that he now guarded an empty room.

 

Aurora padded down the hallway on bare feet, hands pushed into her pockets as she headed towards the tailors shop room. She was hoping Marcellus would be able to help her with ideas for jewelry or a way to carry the crystal easily on herself, and possibly some sort of advice for a few things.   
When she reached his doors, which were decorated with splashes of color instead of the regular doors that belonged to the rest of the Sithen, she knocked softly but surely. She waited a couple of minutes, and when there was no answer she frowned curiously. Usually when he was out, for whatever reason, he left a note on his door, explaining when he would be back, and leaving a place for any missed visitors to leave him a message about getting back to them. But she was also aware that when the tailor became engrossed in whatever he was making or working on, he tended to forget about the rest of the world. So without another moment she pushed on the door, which swung in easily under her hand, and called out to him.  
"Marcell- woah!"  
She yelped and ducked as a pair of scissors went careening by, missing her by inches. Her incredulous gaze swept the normally clean, if not necessarily organized to any standards anyone but the tailor himself understood, room, and it seemed to have been hit by a hurricane. Now completely worried she let the door close behind her and hurried forward, ducking past the flying projectiles that wobbled through the air on uncertain paths, stepping over and around the piles of fabrics that had been knocked over. Within the depths of the room, past the several walls of hanging outfits, colorful tapestries, and lengths of threads, she could hear someone's fast pacing and worried, frantic muttering.  
"Marcellus, what's wrong?"  
As she came around the last wall, her eyes alight on the tailor, and she froze mid step. He whipped around to face her at her question, tri-colored eyes going even wider, his corn yellow hair in wild disarray where he was tugging at it. Instantly he straightened, the things floating through the air pausing, and he began smoothing his hands over his dark gold tunic.  
"Aurora! I - ah, my lady! Ah, everything is perfectly well! How can I be of assistance today?"  
Her jaw dropped slowly at she stared at him, utterly incredulous, and completely baffled.   
"What the seventeen hells Marcellus?"  
His expression twitched, and his shoulders tightened.   
"I... do not understand the question my lady....."  
His gaze was almost pleading, shimmering with how much he obviously wanted her to drop the subject and not ask, don't push, he didn't want to talk about it. It made her hesitate, and finally she sighed.  
"Sorry Marcellus.. ah, long day I suppose... never mind. I was uhm... just going to ask for your help with something..."  
The way he slumped in on himself made his relief all too obvious, but she tried to ignore it.  
"Ah! Certainly my Lady, whatever can I help you with?"  
He pushed his hands together and swept past her into the main room, then paused to stare at the destroyed room. It made her bump into him and stagger, shooting him an amused look as he turned horror filled eyes to her, knocking him out of his sudden muttered cursing.  
"One moment!"  
She couldn't quite hold back the snicker as he began waving his hands, fingers pointing this way and that, the tips of his ears flushing as he directed everything. Innumerable tools, threads, fabrics, clothes, and parchments lifted up and began zooming through the air, untangling and folding faster than she could follow it. Only a minute or so later everything had settled, and Marcellus turned, making a gesture at a now empty chair for her to sit in as he smoothed his hair down.   
"Right.... that's a pretty cool trick, I could've used that as a teenager Mr. Weasley."  
He tilted his head curiously, eyebrows pinching, and she huffed a laugh as she perched on the edge of the seat.  
"Nevermind. So ah... I was wondering if you could make a necklace for me?"  
"Of course! If there are materials I do not have I get them made from the smithy, he has surprisingly delicate hands when he needs to..."  
"The smithy?"  
"Oh yes... Govannon? Have you met him yet?"  
Her mind spiraled through the myriad of faces, but there wasn't one sticking to the name.  
"I'm... not sure...?"  
Marcellus chuckled, sending her a small grin.  
"You would remember him, I am certain. He is a large Sidhe, with copper hair, usually wears the apron of the blacksmith..."  
A vague memory surfaced, but she still shook her head sheepishly as it faded. Marcellus seemed highly amused.  
"Ah, it is alright, when we figure out what you need, I can take you with me to meet him if you wish, I am almost certain I will need something from him, for I am low on many of my metals right now with the preparations for the f-festival."  
She looked at him oddly as he stumbled over the word, suddenly obviously nervous, or maybe just worried and taken with thoughts of his work. Surely that was it.  
"Uhm... yeah, okay that sounds cool! I'd like that..."  
"O-of course! So... what was it you wanted exactly?"  
"Well... I need some kind of wire wrap I guess, I need it to be a pendant, because I can't put a hole in this thing to hold it on a necklace - ..... well actually I probably could I don't even know anymore but I don't want to try that particular change - uhm, anyway yeah, like something that could wrap around this little crystal I have -"  
"C-crystal?!"  
Slowly lifting her gaze to his bright eyes suspiciously, she raised a brow with obvious curiosity.  
"Yeah... a crystal ball actually.."  
"Of course! T-that should be no-"  
"Marcellus I do wish you would tell me what is bothering you. You're acting as if I'm going to bite you, or- .... wait, you heard about the crystal ball didn't you?"  
He squeaked, slapping his hands over his mouth, and wildly shook his head. She stood and started over to him, eyes narrowing, and propped her hands on her hips as he scurried back.  
"What is it?! Come on, I want to know whats got your panties in a twist!"  
"My- oh no! I will not tell you! What if she was right - or, sort of right, but! - what if she was /sort of/ right and it is just you! I refuse to say anything that would chance placing the prince in any kind of danger and - "  
"What?! What kind of danger?! Who was right?! Marcellus I swear to fucking god if Tristan is in any danger and you know anything about it and do not tell me right now I will -"  
"He is in no danger! But his rightful place may be and based on heresy I do not know who to trust with the small amount of knowledge I have!"  
She stopped to stare at him, watching him fidget nervously, and felt a small twinge of guilt that she was somehow the cause of it. But she viciously quashed the feeling because her worry for Tristan, and whatever the hell was meant by his 'rightful place', far outweighed it. Truthfully since their first meeting she had realized that she had misjudged the tailor, and thought them friends. Now she wondered while she regarded him with a small bit of apprehension.  
"Marcellus, I don't know why you think I would do anything to hurt Tristan, or his 'rightful place', whatever you mean by that, but I promise you I'm not out to get him. Please tell me what you're so worried about."  
"I.... I cannot! I do not know if-"  
"Fine, what if I tell you a secret, that may help my case, and you promise to tell me yours?"  
The sidhe's eyes lit up, then he hesitated, chewed his lip, brought up his finger, paused, and his mouth worked for several soundless seconds before he huffed in annoyance. She had to stifle her laugh when he crossed his arms and stomped his foot.  
"How do I know you will tell me something worth my secret?"  
"How do /I/ know you will tell me the true one that you're talking about? Ah! See? You'll just have to trust me."  
His lower lip pouted out, but when she held steady he turned in several quick circles with a high whine of frustration and then stopped, blurting out his apparent decision before he could change his mind.  
"Ah, damn it all! Fine!"  
"Good! But -"  
Here she stepped forward and fisted her hand in his collar, dragging him forward until he was wide eyed and nose to nose with her. She let her voice drop to a feral growl, eyes flashing with her sincerity as she spoke softly, but clearly.  
"If what I tell you is told to another soul that is not already in on this, without either my or Tristan's explicit permission, there will be no where you can hide from me. Telling this to anyone that isn't trustworthy will put the entire lot of us in danger, including Tristan, and I will not allow that to happen. Right now, I do in fact trust you Marcellus, but if that changes because of this,..... do you understand me?"  
He hurriedly nodded, and she carefully let go, even smoothing her hand over his shirt to fix the wrinkles left from her hand.  
"Awesome. Now then... you of course know what the Carminum Rituum is, and most of the circumstances around it, right?"  
He learned closer, eyes brightening with barely concealed excitement.  
"Yes! But there has not -"  
"I know. We're having the ritual this year, with those who should rightfully hold each of the elements. That means -"  
His gasp cut her off, and she blinked at him.  
"That means that Merlin's crystal truly chose you and you can find those who are the rightful holders and call the artifacts back from the veil!"  
"Y-yeah... and-"  
"And you can perform the ritual for the first time in a thousand years! And-"  
She slapped her hand over his mouth, looking around them carefully, and back to him with thin lipped annoyance.  
"Yes Marcellus, all of that. But there are those who don't want it to happen for different reasons and if they find out about it they will do everything they can to stop it which would include killing me and any of those who would hold that power."  
"Like Tris-"  
"Shut up! Yes! That's /why/ its being kept a secret! Nobody knows yet!"  
When he didn't try to say anything else, she dropped her hand and stepped back, eyeing him warily, because he looked as if he would explode.   
"M-may I see the crystal?"  
"Are you going to tell me what you were freakin out about before?"  
"Oh! Oh yes! That was... well, the King and Queen got into a fight and interrupted my fitting for the kings clothing.. she was angrier than a wet panlin, and I kind of.. eavesdropped at the door..."  
He fell silent, sheepish, and she waved her hand to get him to continue. Surely this story wasn't going to end well. 

Over the next twenty minutes, the entire shop with filled with their voices. They paced and stomped; while he ranged from fearful whispering to horrified squealing, she snapped questions and made wide gestures, furiously trying to keep the nervous tailor talking because every time he got out more than two sentences he seemed to want to clam up. It was like pulling teeth!   
The argument he told her about made her leery, worried about what it could all mean, and fearful that this would end up causing Tristan more problems, more drama. They all had enough to deal with, trying to gather all the people they needed for the ritual, keep it under wraps, and hopefully not allow anyone who wanted to see it fail gain any ground on that plan. She needed to talk to Tristan.  
Had he not already went to find his father and talk to him, she would've ran off in search of him then and there, but she figured that he was already with him and well into the conversation by now. She had already been there with Marcellus for nearly an hour, and it had been a bit longer since the Prince had gone on in search of his father.   
The tailor bade her to return the next day, once he had made a list of things he would need, and they could go together to see the smith. He seemed perfectly content now as if telling her would completely solve the problems he'd been so worried about, and while she took the smallest bit of pride that he apparently had some faith in her, it was also a little panic because she didn't really know what to do with the information either! Nevertheless, she agreed to go with him the next morning, because it would give her something to do, and then left quickly.  
Normally she would have stayed to talk to him a while and visit or watch him work, but this time urgency was vibrating under her skin, something pulling at her to go through with the half formed plan she'd begun concocting on the walk towards the tailors rooms. One that she'd thought was needed before, but now thought was an absolute necessity. She headed back to her room to change, mind churning with possibilities.  
Mainly, that if Morrigan, Marcellus, and Belle all knew about the crystal already, she would bet /he/ had heard as well.   
Once in her room she checked her appearance, deciding to change into a different dress for the night before leaving again, although the choice was completely purposeful. She chose one of her longer gowns, a blue so dark it was nearly black, but in the light it glimmered with a sapphire sheen, and pulled on her stockings; even going so far as to brush out her hair a little. She wanted it to seem as if she'd worked on her appearance some, but not overly.  
There was only a single moment of indecision, before she settled Merlin's crystal back on her table, watching it grow again and settle in as if understanding without asking that it wasn't coming along for now. She double checked the dagger strapped to her thigh, and pulled her coin out from under her pillow. Looking out the window she saw the sun had already set and the sky was quickly darkening: she had to hurry.  
She turned the silver coin in her grasp, eyeing the designs with no small amount of curiosity. How the hell was this supposed to help her? When she flipped it over, ignoring the obvious elemental symbol for water on the front, she found what seemed like some intricate crest emblazoned across the other side. A vague memory surfaced, having seen it somewhere before, and after several minutes of more and more frantic pacing it hit her; the tapestry!  
She was out of her room and hurrying down the hallway in seconds.

 

Every time she heard footsteps she slowed down, pretended to be walking calmly and being utterly bored until the person passed, and would hasten her steps again. Soon enough the guys would surely be looking for her for supper, and she wanted to be gone before then. When a quick tour of the Sithen wouldn't find her, she knew they would leave her be until after supper, giving her some time for her errand, because they would think she was just exploring outside.   
The tapestry she was looking for was a huge portrait of a scene from the civil war, obviously done so that the darker side of UnSeelie looked like misshapen monsters, and the other side of the Seelie court seemed like avenging angels.   
What a crock, she thought.  
That had been the only reason she'd noticed this, which had been Boreas, she now remembered. He'd walked by and sniffed at it, muttering about it before walking on. A quick question towards Stratos had given her the answer. The man leading the UnSeelie, the King's captain of the guard at the time, wielded a shield emblazoned with the same crest that was on her coin. It was that of Boreas's family, because it had been his father in the tapestry. That was why it was back here in a rarely used hallway, dimly lit and not on display so that it didn't offend the queen, or Boreas when he visited in the past.  
It was perfect, she thought, looking around carefully.   
But she was alone, and she plucked the tapestry up to peer behind it. There was a solid wall and nothing else.  
"T'hell?"  
Sliding her fingers across the stones, she felt for any cracks, any puffs of air, and even knocked to feel for a change in the density of the stone. Nothing!  
The tapestry fell against her back, shielding her from most of the light as she pawed at the wall. Just as she was about to screech from sheer frustration, a tingle of awareness shot up her spine, and she froze. Her pocket practically vibrated again, and she snatched the coin from her dress with a spark of understanding.  
"Duh! Told me I'd need this.."  
She held it up to the wall and played Marco Polo with the sound of the hum, following it until it hit a perfect chord over one stone about shoulder high. With a long look out from under the tapestry to make sure she was still alone in the hallway, she laid the coin against the wall. Instantly she heard a chime, and a crack appeared, slitting through the stone with a brisk efficiency. When it suddenly swung in she staggered forward with a squeak of surprise, catching herself against the white marble to stare off into a winding cave that led down. Trepidation skittered up her back but she squared her shoulders and peeled her coin off the wall, stepping out of the way as the wall began to swing back. It shut behind her with barely a hiss of sound, as quiet as it had opened, and plunged her into the pitch black dark.  
Pure animalistic fear crawled up her throat and choked her, making her flatten against the wall with a strangled cry.   
"Not the dark, not the dark, notthedarknotthedark-"  
She practically whimpered and slid down the wall, curling up as she started snapping her fingers, trying to remember through the panic seizing her lungs on how to make one of those little lights the others were always making, because she could she knew she-  
"Whazzat!!??!”  
She went ramrod stiff, staring into the darkness after the sound of dry rustling, light footsteps, and she thought her heart would explode for a moment in utter terror. Her lips parted on what was building on a heaving gasp to be a blood curdling scream of utter horror when light flickered into existence feet away from her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she stared, watching the ghostly light sway closer, a sickly green that seemed oddly familiar and seemed to flash off for a second with a strange regularity. When it - no, they - they were eyes! - loomed over her, a cool touch brushed against her cheek.  
She went limp as if the strings had been cut, the scent of dark earth filling her nose from the creature, eyes finally adjusting, and the glow seemed to strengthen as she let out a breath of relief.  
"I-its you..."  
There was a breathy rattle, and creatures head tilted curiously at her, mouth hanging open, soundless, and she wanted to cry with such profound relief. The skeletal creature, with too long limbs and pale, paper thin skin stretched over delicate bones, was one of the many that came to her or Wraith.  
"Did he send you?"  
With a shake of its head, it turned to gesture at the tunnel, and realization dawned.  
"No... this is where some of you are, isn't it? The dark.. and underground is a perfect place... I'm such an idiot.. I...ah..."  
She flushed, pushing to her feet and dusting her gown off as she cleared her throat.  
"Let's not tell anyone about this hmm? Its just.. a moment of ah.. well.. yeah, let's pretend you didn't see that."  
When she looked up, its vacant eyes were peering at her in soft confusion, and she nodded.  
"Never mind... uhm.. so, I'm headed this way, and its good to see you, want to come with?"  
Instead of answering, as usual, it simply moved aside, almost floating, and she didn't really went to look down to see if its feet were on the ground or not, or what, really. With only a mildly nervous laugh as her stomach settled fitfully, she nodded and started forward.  
"Right.. cool. Come on, let's follow the uh... dark, dirt road, Toto."  
There was that dry rustle again, and she wondered if it was a laugh of sorts.

 

She became quite thankful for the creature on her way through the tunnel, because there seemed to be a hundred different offshoots from this one, several slopes and dips, and a few places that she braced against the wall and basically slid down the ninety degree angle. The glow from his eyes, and hands which he brightened to help her, illuminated the rocky path ahead pretty well. He caught her arm several times to keep her from falling, and guided her gently down the steeper slopes. She was pretty thankful she'd not worn shoes, because those things would have tripped her up a million times by now, but the bottoms of her stockings may be ruined beyond even the tailors saving. Well, she'd get him to make her some more, maybe.  
A halting hand on her shoulder made her pause in her walking, turning curiously to look at the creature who had stopped.  
"What's a'matter?"  
Raising his other hand he pointed past them, and she followed the gesture, squinting her eyes to see there was a faint glow from ahead, like torchlight.  
"Oh! Good! That means we're almost - wait, you don't wanna come in there..."  
He nodded, dropping his hands and slowly tilting his head to look at her. She sighed, realizing it was probably better anyway, and sent the creature a bright smile.  
"Well... thank you for helping me. I'll be coming back through shortly, you're welcome to walk with me then if you're still out here somewhere."  
When he dipped forward, she realized he was kind of bowing at her, and before she could tell him not to mess with all that, he faded out like smoke as if he were never there. It left her blinking into the dark of the tunnel they'd just come through with a wide eyed expression, and she shook her head, a burst of nervous laughter slipping out.  
Before she could have another freakout about the dark, she hurried towards the torchlight, feet silent on the soft soil of the tunnel. She wondered why this one was so much different than the one Aedh lived through, and thought perhaps this one had been made to look like this. Who knew.

 

She paused outside a pair of doors, looking over them with curiousity. The thick doors looked like grey wood, edged in silver, with a pair of tridents engraved upon them. They crossed over the nearly seven foot doors and were made of a cobalt blue stone. There was no handle, but a knocker on one side, just a simple metal loop, and she tentatively reached for it. Her eyes drifted up to the torch hanging on the wall, and she jerked her gaze back before she lost her nerve. Thumping the metal ring against the wood three times, she stepped back, running her hands over her hair to smooth it down and wished her racing heart to calm.  
Why had she thought coming down to the lions den on her own without telling anyone would be a good idea?  
Just as she was about to turn tail and run, because time was stretching her nerves past the breaking point and she couldn't hear or sense anything beyond the door, there was a clang. It made her flinch and startle, but then with a burst of cool air and bright light, one of the doors swung open. She covered her eyes until the brightness receded and her eyes grew accustomed to the light again, surprised to see that the doorway was empty.  
".....uhm.... h-hello?"  
Pausing for a few seconds gained her nothing, so she inched forward, eyeing the room around her with curiosity. The walls were all a pale cream color, with several marble columns throughout the large room made of white and that same cobalt stone from the doors. There were tall bookcases filled to overloading with all sorts of books, tables laden with trinkets, seashells, and instruments, and several couches and chairs scattered throughout. On one wall was a small fire pit, which seemed rarely used, and nearby a table with a plate of unfinished food atop it. Her eyes were drawn to the walls though, making her catch her breath with no small amount of awe.  
Several tapestries decorated the walls, some with battles from history, one of the UnSeelie court, and yet more with such stunning detail they seemed alive yet. Each was a picture of the depths of the ocean, done in glorious colors that splashed across the cloth like a painter had gone mad. Yet it fit, because each of the colorful bursts belonged to a different fantastical creature, displayed in all of its natural beauty. She had never seen such things, fishes, sharks, dolphins, whales, jellyfish, seahorses, and surely a hundred other things that she had no name for. The light glittered across the vibrant scenes of underwater life, coral reefs making amazing backgrounds to the schools and clusters of animals zipping through the waves.   
"How beautiful...."  
The other parts of the walls were decorated here and there with treasures surely gained from such adventures in the depths: teeth, pieces of the reefs, skeletons from some of the impossible creatures in the tapestries, so many different kinds of beautiful shells and several different groups of scales that glittered like diamonds in a multitude of colors. She found herself stepping forward, and stopped when her foot encountered a different texture. The sudden realization that the floor was pure sand just past the doorway had her looking around again, but at least it was normal golden sand, she thought.  
Other rooms led off past this one, things she could only glimpse from her current spot. One was a hallway, another room with a forge and a great many shelves of metals and stones she couldn't entirely see. There was one to a bedroom, which seemed barely lit, but she could make out what seemed like a gigantic oyster shell with a thousand pillow piled inside, and the thought of it made her snort. No way, surely that was something else. There were a couple more hallways, and one alcove that led almost straight down, the floor disappearing into the pool of water. More tunnels, she figured, that led elsewhere.  
She walked to the side a bit more, realizing the room went past the rows of bookshelves, and stopped to stare incredulously. There were two huge tables, laden with large books, miles of notes and scribbles, different instruments, more shells and scales, and beyond it were tall stands. Each one seemed like a carefully wrought piece, covered in matching runes from base to top, where delicate strands held onto the artifact they displayed. Three held the elemental artifacts that she'd seen before, but the other three were empty. Beyond those were more, shaped differently to fit whatever they were supposed to hold, though she didn't recognize what they could possibly be for, except for a couple. One of which was surely for the crystal ball. There were two with mannequin like heads that were, thankfully, empty, and she knew they were for the crowns. She silently thanked the gods that those were empty. A few swords, a shield, a cauldron, and one other thing littered the remaining spaces, and she stared at the last one.  
A spill of white sand encircled it, touching the base of the artifact itself, which stood leaning against its stand, surely because it was too tall to be displayed another way. She wanted to know if it was real, and she carefully cracked open her senses to hear it. The music of the other artifacts was muted considerably, covered by that /wrong/ sounding loop of music she knew she had heard, like it was trying to mimic the real sound but it was forced. There though, her eyes coming back quickly to her point of curiosity, the music was strong, as if not bound by the stand it leaned against. The sound was like that of the water element, but so much more, twined with something wild, free, beautifully enormous and powerful. It beckoned her forward like a siren's call, tugging an ache deep in her bones that she swore she had listened to before. The metal was mostly copper, with gold and silver veins twisted throughout the handle, engraved with sapphires, pearls, opals, and multi hued shells.   
She swallowed, knowing full well the hum was growing in pitch, truly beckoning her, the sharply pointed tips gleaming in the light daring her, and she took another step forward, hand lifting towards the magnificent artifact before she thought to stop herself-  
"Ah pet, I thought I heard someone knock."  
She whirled, gasping, hand coming up to cover her suddenly pounding heart. At the edge of the bookcase he stood, arms crossed, ankles crossed, shoulder against the dark wood with a devil may care smirk. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, eyeing him with no small amount of nervous hesitance.  
"H-hey! Yeah I - I uh, s-sorry... I was coming to talk to you..."  
He straightened, and she was reminded of her first meeting with Aedh, only this time, she was pretty sure this was actually the bad brother of the trio. He was slightly taller than the other two she could tell now, more muscled where they were leaner, with his wide shoulders to a tapered waist. His moonlight skin looked more pale, perhaps only because they were so far from daylight, his metallic eyes shining with a touch of amusement and pleased surprise. He wore black pants that were decorated down one leg with blue and green scales that glinted sharply, his sea green hair loose again and still shifting about him like the currents in the ocean.   
"Of course... but I have already heard a few things since last we met..."  
"Yeah so ... uhm a-about that -"  
She went perfectly still, watching him as he sauntered closer, raising his hand up as if placating, but his eyes were sparking, and she could hear the sound of his music. Surprise had her actually listening for a moment, because it was his own natural magic, without the overlying tones of what he had been doing that was so unnatural with the artifacts. It was water, pure and simple, but darker, with a thread of the deep parts of the unexplored oceans, a hint of shadows lurking in the murky depths where humans could not go, a taste of fantasy that made her shiver and tack an involuntary step backwards. He pretended not to notice as he came up to her, pressing a cool palm to her cheek and stepping so very close, tilting his head down to see her with a crooked smirk.  
"Yes... about that crystal..."  
She swallowed, stomach flipping nervously, and she wondered how the hell she kept getting herself into these types of things because damnit -  
"I am very proud of you pet.."  
Her entire world cracked down the center with a sound like thunder, and she was left blinking up at him, dumb stuck and gawking before she could think better of it.  
"Wh-what? Really?! But I ... didn't really do anything...?"  
He paused, staring at her a moment, before he leaned back with a snort of sound, one that bubbled up and filled his eyes, and then he was throwing back his head with a laugh that reached the ceiling. She would admit, nearly swallowing her tongue as he stumbled backwards and wrapped an arm around his stomach, bending in half to grab the table and hold himself up, that there was something wrong with his laugh. She held on to her sheepish smile, but could not force a true one, because unlike most laughs that were contagious, filling up the corners with the bright sound, this one seemed to lure the shadows closer, raising goose bumps along her skin and cold breath upon her neck. She had heard such laughs before, things on the edge of hysteria, a noise that walked the knife edge of the decent into pure madness as it rasped out of his throat and echoed through the room.  
When he finally collected himself, it was to fall back into one of the chairs as the cackle died off, head back against the seat exposing the strong column of his throat, one hand splayed across his face as if to hide the smile, and legs sprawled out in front of him. She thought the position eerily reminiscent of Boreas, but she had never, however briefly, thought about stabbing a dagger through that pale expanse of skin.   
For just a heartbeat, as she stood there looking at the eldest brother, she considered it.   
"Oh, that was... yes, did not do anything, how delightful!"  
He rolled his head around to see her, metallic eyes still dancing with mirth, and she shrugged a little, toeing at the ground, unable to come up with anything else to say.   
"Come pet, you have single handedly unlocked the very thing I absolutely had to have to truly complete my plan.. Without it, the ritual could not have been finished, and it would certainly have taken me several hundred more years, even with the help of all the elemental artifacts and the crowns themselves, to entice it to my hand otherwise."  
Well shit, that didn't help her feelings any. But outwardly, her smile turned a little shy, and she tucked her hair back behind her ear as she looked at him. It made him straighten up, prop his elbows on his knees and look at her more.  
"Good... I really didn't even mean to.. I had no idea how, or even where to begin.. it just sort of happened... but, what else do we do now?"  
His smile widened, turned proud, and he shook a teasing finger at her.  
"Such an eager little thing... I like it. I still have to gain control of the other artifacts... the problem is, they are much easier to take when they are already manifested. I could plan a strike to get the air artifact from that dragon, and the dark crown from my little brother, but then any others would be suspicious of me-"  
"Then - then wait until they have all returned!"  
He paused, looking up at her questioningly, a little suspiciously, and she hurried to explain. Please don't let this be a bad idea, she chanted in her head, willing the gods to listen and offer her something.  
"What do you mean?"  
She looked down, hiding the way relief swamped her as the whispers slid across her senses and urged her on.  
"Well... I'm afraid your.. informants are doing a piss poor job of telling you things... or are perhaps keeping things to themselves.."  
When he pushed to his feet, a slither of power rushing forward like liquid, icy as it splashed over her skin, she knew she had hit something. Lifting up her lashes to look at him coyly, lips tilting in half a smirk, she caught the way he was looking at her with barely concealed interest, but it was wary, and there was a flash of anger underneath it.  
"Why do you say that?"  
Her smile inched wider, and he started moving toward her again, one step at a time.  
"Well... I assumed from our last conversation that what you just said was the rule of thumb, so to say. That these things would be easier to gather once they were already manifested... so once I had the crystal, I kind of... followed my instincts with it, and already found the shadow guardian.."  
He stopped in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest, sending the runes on his arms to glittering brightly at the edge of her vision. She couldn't help but stare at them, wondering quietly, while his voice rumbled a laugh.  
"Ahh, such a useful pet.. I am terribly glad I did not kill you to begin with, you are turning out to be worth much more alive... so tell me, do you think you can call the Sun's artifact back as well?"  
"Yes.. but the guardian must accept the responsibility first, I can't call them to myself unfortunately.. so it will take a bit longer..."  
"That /is/ a shame... but still highly useful. What of your magic? Do you think you can call the elements to you to harmonize them at the ritual?"  
She wasn't sure where the daring come from, she really should be smarter, but instead of answering, she acted. The whispers grew, urging her on, and she reached out to lay a hand on his forearm. He made a questioning hum, the corners of his lips lifting into a smirk, but then she flicked her gaze up to his, and called earth, fire, and water to her hand.   
The reaction as the music speared up around them, diving down to her arm, illuminating the runes that scrawled over her skin and flared to brilliant life, was instantaneous. He heaved in a startled breath, hands spasming once as the light pooled on her arms flowed over to his and sank in, eyes popping wide with shock. Behind them she heard three differently, but familiarly, tuned hums ring to life, rising in pitch as she held the line of power, and felt her hair begin to float around them in a low breeze. When sparks lit his metallic eyes, and he locked his knees to stay upright, raising his free hand to clasp her wrist, she let go of the threads of music. It was like the tide, ebbing away instead of dropping like a cut line, and both of them took in a free breath as it eased away. The last to go, as if reluctant to depart, was the lilting tune of water, which seemed to circle them and cling like droplets across her senses before falling away.  
The sudden silence was filled with the lingering echoes in the corners, and she blinked away the fog to focus and see him, lips parted, staring at her in awestruck shock.  
"What do you think? Does that work?"  
He shook his head, as if dispelling the same cloudy haze she'd had for a moment, before his eyes narrowed, flashing at her above a sharply smug grin.  
"Oh my pet... will wonders never cease..."  
His soft murmur had her smiling, looking down and away coyly.   
"It works, certainly... more than I thought you would be able to do... you make me proud pet.. and this makes me wonder... did you visit me for reasons other than to simply bring me this news?"  
Her gaze snapped back up to his, face flushing red when she caught his look and understanding dawned.  
"W-what? No! No - no I just - I thought I should bring you the news myself I w-wanted you to know what was going on!"  
He moved a step closer, using his hold on her wrist to press her hand against the swell of his chest, and she swallowed, wide eyed.  
"But then, if that is so, why did you simply not call me upon the scrying mirror with my coin?"  
Her jaw dropped, and she sputtered.  
"I - I could do that?! I didn't know that! I came all the way down that dank, creepy tunnel for-"  
"Ah, but you wound me... and here I thought you had simply come for the pleasure my company.."  
His voice was a low purr, and she shivered, mind racing for something, anything to -  
She stopped, looked down again, and didn't have to fake the breathless laugh.  
"Well.. I mean, I didn't know that would work.. but I suppose I would've come anyway, to see you..."  
His chuckle was dark, tantalizing, and she glanced up when he caught her chin and prompted her to look up.  
"If it is my company you sought, you should have told me so.. I could give you a tour of my home.. you could stay a while... perhaps a few hours.."  
He moved closer, and she suddenly realized what he meant as he tugged his bottom lip between his teeth and smoothed his thumb over her jaw.  
/Tactical error Houston, abort mission, evasive maneuvers!/  
"I-I would uhm - l-love to..."  
Her mind was racing as his smile turned smug, and she leaned into him, flattening both hands against his chest. He made a low sound of pleased surprise, and she pressed her forehead against his collar, hiding her expression.  
"But I... I can't... I slipped away while everyone was at supper and they'll be looking for me right afterwards...."  
"Mmm... that is a shame... perhaps next time then.. and you know now if you need me you can use the coin to call to me..."  
She nodded, and moved back, pressing her hand against her cheek to stifle the blush. He moved slowly, circled around her, hand trailing down her arm to her hip, stopping as he faced the artifacts displayed across the wall.  
"Before you go, which one had you so interested earlier.. if I may ask?"  
She partially turned, eyes going to the splash of cobalt blue that shimmered under her gaze as if begging her to bring it with her.  
"The trident.."  
"Aahhh... she /is/ a beauty... Well, come then, we shall get you back before you are missed."

Ever the gentleman, he helped her create a small light to guide herself with, saw her to the entrance and bade her goodbye before closing his door and letting the darkness swallow her up again. Even expecting it, the almost instant appearance of the creature from earlier made her jump, but she sent him a welcoming smile.  
"Oh! Good, come on, we have to hurry!"  
She grabbed its hand, and they flew through the corridors as fast as she could run.

 

Aurora had the creature slip through and check the hallway before she opened the doorway back into the Sithen. Once it reappeared with a nod that it was clear, she slid out and closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief as it shut quietly behind her. She was breathing pretty hard, heart pumping from the exhilarating run as she smoothed her hands over her wild hair. Beside her the creature continued to wait, head tilting as it watched her, and she sent it a smile. It was more translucent in the bright light of the Sithen, and she wondered how long it would hang around now.  
"There she is."  
She turned at the voice, beaming at the guys as they came around the corner, and quit primping to wait on them to catch up with her.   
"My my flower, what have you been up to? You are flushed.."  
Tristan's fingertips touched her cheek as he smiled, still curiously, and she tossed a glance at her silent companion.  
"We were ah, racing... I think he let me win."  
The creature bowed toward Boreas, who inclined his head, and then Wraith, who grinned.  
"More than likely."  
"Oh hush! You're suppose to be on my side!"  
"Now why would we do that?"  
She stuck her tongue out at Stratos while the others chuckled, and Boreas stepped up next to her.  
"Come my fair lady, we both -.. were late for supper, we can go get something together and meet them in the common room once Tristan has finished his visit with his father."  
She sent him a bright smile, letting the leftover worry fade away as the others rolled their eyes at her 'champion'. Tristan shook his head and hummed softly.  
"Of course uncle, ever the white knight. I will not be long flower, go with Uncle. And -you-, make sure she eats! You know she does not eat enough."  
"Hey!"  
Boreas cracked up as he threw his arm around her shoulders and began steering her away, and she let him even though she pouted. Once they were a few hallways apart from the others, the creature having slipped off at some point, Boreas leaned closer to her.   
She glanced at him curiously from the corner of her eye, wondering what he was doing. Seconds later she understood as he inhaled slowly right next to her hair, going rigid in shock under the weight of his arm as his voice dropped to a low murmur.  
"So why exactly is it you smell of my elder brother?"  
"I... I uhm... I don't exactly-"  
She cut off as he swept her suddenly into one of the many 'common rooms' as he called them, which were scattered throughout the sithen as places for the Sidhe to congregate as they wanted. All were generally furnished the same, except the one they usually occupied by Tristan's rooms, which was different because he had added to it. This one was simply a few tables and chairs, completely empty save for them.  
The door clicking shut was overly loud to her sensitive ears as she sputtered, wringing her hands together as she eyed the UnSeelie king carefully. His metallic eyes were flashing dangerously, mouth set in a thin line as he stood in front of the door and crossed his arms.  
"I-it's not what you think - I uhm.. I just... well...."  
"Well, what?"  
His voice was a whip of sound that made her flinch involuntarily, stomach tying itself in knots with worry as she toed at the floor. The cool wind of his power was seeping forward, pressing against her skin although it wasn't hurting yet, but she could tell he was mad.  
Suddenly, she got mad too.  
"Well - what do you want me to say?! You obviously know where I've been, what the hell do you think I was there for?! I knew none of you would understand or let me go alone so-"   
"So you went alone, by yourself, with no one the wiser?!"  
"Well yeah but-"  
He stomped forward, hair billowing around him, eyes slipping into that pure silver that heralded a true storm.   
"There is no -but- anything! Do you know what could have happened to you?!"  
She let her shoulders down an inch as he drew near, and held up her hands.   
"B-but I just-"  
With a snap of his fingers, that familiar barrier flashed into existence, dropping around them with a dark shimmer and cutting them off from the world. His voice rose a little as he paused right in front of her, expression positively thunderous.  
"You just did not think! Do you realize who it is exactly you are playing with?!"  
Her back shot ramrod straight and she curled her lip, snapping back at him.  
"M'not /playing/ with him dammit! I knew he would hear about the crystal and if he thinks I'm keeping it from him it could ruin our chances! He needs to think I'm on his side or he might move early and screw everything up! I know what-"  
"/No. You do not!!/"  
She froze at his roar, watching his nostrils flare and eyes narrow to flaming slits. He reached forward and grabbed the front of her dress, jerking her up eye to eye with him as his voice lowered to a whip of sound, leaving her toes barely brushing the floor. Still, she wasn't afraid of him, grabbing his wrists to steady herself and glare right back.  
"I know-"  
"Nothing! Do you know what could have happened had you said the wrong thing?! One damned slip up, /just one/, for him to think you are expendable! That is all it would have taken, and he would have severed your head from your body and turned your very bones to silt before any of us even knew to look for you!"  
"I knew it was dangerous but if I'd told one of yall - you wouldn't have let me go! And he likes me he wouldn't have-"  
"/Likes you/?! /This/ is why we would not have let you go! Your heart is one of the things we all love about you, but sometimes it can blind you to the obvious. Do you hear yourself? You are a pawn to him, something to use in this bid for power, and when he thinks you have fulfilled your use, or are a threat to his plans, do you think he will warn you or just stop being your friend?"  
"Well n-no I-"  
"/He killed our parents/!!"  
She reared back as he let her feet touch the floor, voice cracking on the last shout, and she felt her heart give a hard twist when he heaved in a breath.  
"Do you truly understand what that means? He went after all of his siblings, his helpless young nephew, nearly killed his /baby brother/, slaughtered our parents, and went into hiding for the sake of this mad scheme for power! If he would do all that without second thought, why would he even hesitate to kill /you/?!"  
"I... I didn't..."  
"No, you did not!"  
Her eyes slid away, shoulders dropping as shame filled her, and she listened to the overbearing silence as he struggled to reign in his temper by breathing slowly.  
"I'm sorry...I was just trying to help..."  
"I know you were..."  
She looked back up as he touched her cheek, voice softer now, the silver fading entirely from his gaze as he sighed, heavy and filled with the echo of emotions.  
"But you must tell us when you do these things... you had nothing to back you up, nothing at all, and I am sure my brother's home is warded, it would have taken us far too long to find you, if we had at all. I do not want you to throw yourself into danger so blindly.... we need you... and I could not bear to loose another to my brothers callous disregard for anyone but himself. Tristan would..."  
He trailed off, and she shivered, let out a low sigh before nodding. Damnit why were they always right?  
"Yeah.. okay, okay... I'll be more careful."  
She squeaked when he pulled her into a sudden hug that had her bones squeezing together, but almost as quickly returned it despite the pressure.  
"That is all I ask..."  
He stepped back, and the circle around them faded away as he offered her a tentative smile.  
"So, does that meal still sound good...?"  
She returned it warmly and nodded, not missing how his shoulders relaxed at her acceptance of his roundabout apology for being kind of abrupt.  
"Yeah, it does."

 

Later that night, she lay staring up into the mostly dark ceiling of Tristan's room, the familiar heat of him beside her a comfort. She couldn't quite get her mind to calm, but she was trying. When he shifted for maybe the fifth time, she realized he wasn't sleeping yet either.  
"Hey Tristan...?"  
There was only the soft swish of sheets as he rolled to face her, barely seeing the movement from the corner of her eye. He hummed questioningly in response as he settled, and she kept her voice low, not wanting to disturb the night, she supposed.  
"Are the oceans here really big?"  
A few beats of silence passed before he answered, as if he'd had to think about it a moment.  
"Yes.. some are. A few of them seem to pass eternity into the horizon.. why do you ask flower?"  
She gave a non comental hum, unsure of how to respond. Seeing Llyr's home had sparked a curiosity in her, and while it was to see the oceans here, it was mostly to see Tristan at the ocean; to see him relax in his own element, dive beneath the sparkling waves and come up surrounded by those fantastic creatures, because she knew he would be friends with them, the oddly young wonder he often wore at something new that would surely be increased tenfold, and -  
"Flower...?"  
She turned her head to look at him, refocusing on the present, and he gave her a warm smile.   
"I said, why do you ask?"  
"I just... was curious. I.. wanted to see what you would be like out there.. is all.."  
Surprise flitted across his features for a heartbeat and was gone, replaced with a tender expression she didn't know how to interpret.  
"Then .. I will take you there to visit, one day soon.."  
"I'd like that..."  
"Good... now get some rest woman.."  
She huffed a soft laugh at him but obliged by rolling over and getting comfy, burrowing down into the covers with a contented sigh when he draped his arm over her side and settled them together.  
"G'night Tristan.."  
"Good night my flower.."


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY DON'T KILL ME

"Marcellus...?"  
Aurora stood just inside the door of the tailors shop, eyes wide as she watched in hesitant confusion. Marcellus was zipping back and forth, harried and almost frantic as he waved his hands. Under the direction of his hurried magic, bolts of fabric, thread, and all type of glittering decorations were flying through the air to land in the large open bag in the center of the chaos, tucking gently away despite his obvious hurry. At her question he skidded to a stop and swung around, pale hair unraveling from the braid he had it in and cheeks flushed.  
"My lady! Oh I am - oh, forgive me but I must reschedule our outing to the smithy for perhaps later in the day, I am so very sorry!"  
"I- ah, its fine Marcellus, really, don't apologize..."  
He was shaking his head as wrung his hands together, making her frown curiously.   
"No, no my lady it is not, we had plans this morning and I must cancel them!"  
"Really its cool Marcellus, I'm not mad. I mean, well, look.. its for a good reason, right?"  
"The king has ordered me to come back and finish the fittings we started the other day, before the... interruption, and I must go this morning. I must hurry though, because I truly needed to go see Govannon with my list of things! He needs time to prepare everything and get together the things I need for the few outfits I have left to finish, which were only waiting on those particular items, and-"  
"Woah woah Marcellus breathe!"  
The poor tailor had grown more and more frantic with his explanation, hands waving wildly as his words began running together. She walked over with both hands up placatingly, talking in as soothing a manner as she could while hiding her amusement.  
"I totally understand, its okay, I promise. Just stand still for a moment and breathe Marcellus, it'll be alright."  
"But his highness is waiting on me and I have so much to do and Govannon simply must get all of these things-"  
"Can I help?"  
"Wh-what?!"  
She sat her hands on the tailors shoulders, looking down slightly at him with an amused smile while he gaped.  
"I said, can I help? Maybe I could take the list to this Govannon for you or something? That way he can get your things together while you go on to the King."  
"B-but my lady I cannot ask you to do such frivolous things for -me- !!"  
"You didn't, I volunteered. And they're not frivolous if you need them. Do you have a list?"  
"W-well yes but-"  
"Is that all you need done this morning?"  
"N-no but my lady-"  
"Then tell me what you need and give me the damned list."  
He paused, mouth working for a moment before he slumped in defeat. It made her smile a little and he finally huffed out a breath after smoothing his hands over his hair.  
"The most important thing is that this list reach Govannon, if you are absolutely certain I can tell you where his smithy is. I suppose... that you can drop off these notes to the other Sidhe, because I have questions for some of them for last minute changes on their clothing, and they have to know to come to me at a specific time today so that I can fix these outfits and give them to their respective owners..."  
"Sounds easy enough... if you can draw me a map or something because this place gets me majorly freaking lost."  
The tailor glanced at her a moment before he gave in and snickered.  
"Of course my lady."  
"Don't laugh at me you little shit, I don't have to help you!"  
"You wound me!"  
"I will."  
When the tailor relaxed and outright laughed, her responding smile was genuine. She liked it much better when her friend laughed than what she had walked into earlier.

 

Almost an hour later, she walked away from the last of the ten Sidhe she'd had to hunt down to give the tailors notes to. Several of them had seemed completely baffled by her approach, and then more than surprised, some even raising haughty eyebrows when she explained that she was helping.  
Snotty douchebags thought it beneath them to offer help to a 'servant' or something she bet. Who knew.  
But now, she just had one place left to go, which was to Govannon.   
So, with her little hastily drawn map clutched in one hand, the letter from Marcellus in the other, she trotted down yet another long, white, marble hallway that was edged in gold and decorated with tapestries. There were lots of doors and other hallways, stairs and other decorations like statues, pottery, armor suits, flowers, and some other things she wasn't quite sure what they were. At the end of this one, she took a quick right and hurried forward, nose buried in the map as she counted the hallways and glanced all over for a point of reference.   
"Ah, so there's the courtroom... thats like two hallways over... so I'm not ridiculously far away but damn this is a convoluted place- eep!"  
She wheeled to a halt when she stumbled, the floor suddenly going much farther down than it should have been. It took her a moment as she leaned against the wall to calm her racing heart, but she lowered the map and looked around, only to find herself in one such alcove.  
How the hell?  
Glancing back over her shoulder, she could see the main hallway, through a simple space in the wall. She hadn't even noticed this alcove, dimly lit as it was, but as she peered around she wondered what it was for. The step down had been what tripped her, and about a foot in front of her was a spill of that white sand she was becoming accustomed to seeing. It led forward to a surely two foot wide recess in the ground like a bowl, made of some particularly shiny sapphire colored stone.   
Curiosity prompted her to look closer, so she carefully tucked the papers she held into her pocket, and toed off the slippers she wore before moving forward. The alcove itself, beyond the rather small opening which was the size of a regular arched doorway, was wide enough for perhaps three or four people to fit inside comfortably around the basin. Voices whispered across her senses as she knelt down, reaching out to touch the edges of the bowl with tentative fingers. It was bone dry, cool, but had a soft hum to it. She tilted her head and listened for a moment, wondering, thinking it sounded soft like a lullaby.  
Her gaze was drawn up to the wall behind it, where there was something engraved. It was covered with a layer of dust, and she frowned, thinking it shouldn't be. Carefully edging around on her knees, she used the end of her dress to reach up and wipe the inset clean, staring in awe as she uncovered it.  
"Woooooow.... how cool is that?"  
It was a depiction of the god and goddess, slightly different from many she had seen, but still no less beautiful. The mother was as earth, with her hands out in front of her, cupped together, hair a tangle of flowers and vines around ivory skin, with most of her details done in silver and white. Her head was tilted to the side and turned, so that she looked over her shoulder where she knelt to the god behind her. He was as the sea, yet done in gold and white, skin polished alabaster, and long hair a tangle of waves like the oceans themselves. Kneeling behind her, his arms encircled her in a tender embrace, head tilted so they met each others eyes. Hers were emeralds, sparkling with fire, and his sapphires, glinting with the storm. Their hands were cupped together, with a large hole between hers, and suddenly it clicked.   
"It should be a fountain! But there's... no water... I wonder why.."  
Looking back down inside the basin, there was a center hole to drain water, and three indentions in a triangle pattern around it, as if something could set there. She moved back to kneel right in front of the basin to see, frowning thoughtfully while peering at the holes, wondering if she could ask Tristan what had happened to the fountain. Surely it was beautiful when it had been working. Maybe they could fix it?  
A scraping noise had her whipping up to look and pushing back out of instinct, and Tristan's warning from the other day rang through her head again.  
"If you wish to explore the Sithen, you are welcome to my flower, but please do not do so alone. We have told you how many of our magics have faded over the years, and there are many things in these halls that still carry those long lost echoes. Your magic seems to call the old relics, and even breathe many of them back to life again. This is good, amazing even, but I still do not wish you to do this alone, it could prove dangerous. Not all of our old relics were for healing, or feeding the people, many were for combat."  
As the goddess hands moved, pushing forward from the wall like they were alive, she let out a squeak of fright and scrambled back until she hit the wall. Only seconds later it stopped, frozen again as if it had never moved. The cupped hands were now right over the basin, but still no water came out.  
Even with the voices murmuring in her head, she pushed up to her feet to eye the thing speculatively, more than a little nervous. Moving statues were so not her thing.  
Nothing else seemed to be happening, though she wondered why only the Goddess's hands had moved, and not the God's too. It seemed like they both should.   
She suddenly shook her head and backed out, quickly slipping her shoes back on before she tried to figure out what was wrong and fix it.   
"M'not tryin to fix it, Tristan asked me not to be acting a fool on my own... but... no! ......well, maybe... maybe I'll just ask him or get him to come back with me and see -"  
At the thought, a bell chimed from somewhere above her, and she squeaked again, turning and bolting out of the alcove before she could change her mind.  
"Nope, nope, nope, nope! Gotta go! S'pose to be doing something!"  
She quickly clattered down the hallway before she could change her mind and go back, but she told herself that she would ask Tristan about it later. 

 

By her map, Govannon's building where he worked should be just past the training fields.   
"How have I never noticed that before?"  
As she walked around the edges of the field, she waved a hand at some of the familiar soldiers, listening to the bustle of activity as they all trained and fought. At least it was yet another beautiful day with the sun shining, and a light breeze to keep the day nice without too much heat. Thinking of the sun made her think of her friend, who had ran away from her, and her steps faltered as she sighed.  
Maybe she could go out and find him today, perhaps he would talk to her. She had to figure out why he'd ran away, and try to talk him about his role as guardian.   
Without thinking she ducked as a whistling sound came hurtling towards her head, pausing mid step to blink owlishly at the Sidhe who stood just beside her. His face was a thunderous scowl, eyebrows pinched together as he brought his sword back around and down.  
Just his appearance made her hackles rise, but she wrestled with the urge to growl at him and won. Barely.  
"What'd you do that for?"  
"You are in my training field. If you are not here to train, then you are an obstacle, or a tool to be used."  
A few other soldiers had stopped to stare incredulously, and she curled her lip.  
"I'll not be jack shit to you, so fuck off. I'm doing something important, which ain't got nothin to do with you!"  
Slate grey eyes, three different colors of the darkest stone, narrowed hatefully on her, and he started to smirk. A flip of his hand pushed his braid of white hair behind his back again, and he raised his obsidian blade up, the sharpened tip gleaming in the sun.   
"If you are in -my- field it does. If you wish to pass through my field, you will have to get past me. I -am- suppose to be training you after all whelp."  
Almost, -almost- she held back the snarl, but she it couldn't quite hide the growl that rumbled out of her chest. She had no time for this pricks games, no time to spend falling in the dirt and getting scrapes and bruises.  
But her blood was boiling, and she hadn't gotten the nicknames of headstrong or stubborn just because of her mother and grandfather; oh no, she'd earned them.  
She tucked the notes securely in her pocket once more and took a step back from him with narrowed eyes.   
"Alright, fine. But we're using magic this time."  
Cainte's eyes widened, and the soldiers around them erupted with hushed whispers as they grabbed the attention of everyone in the field. Each one of them came over to watch, wide eyed and intent, and the air thickened with challenge, the burst of adrenaline.  
"Are you mad? Do you think I want the prince to behead me because I killed his -precious lady consort-?"  
She propped her hands on her hips, looking once around the circle of men, who all seemed to be waiting.  
"I think they'll attest to the fact that the magic was my idea. Or are you scared Cainte?"  
His cheeks darkened as fury lit behind his eyes, and her smile turned sharp. Oh, the guys, Tristan especially, were going to throw shit fits later. It was going to be a hell of a fight, but if she backed down now... well.   
She couldn't.  
"Fine."  
"Alright, if I win, you'll let me go on, and stop trying to cause me so much damn trouble."  
"Agreed. And if I win?"  
"Well hell, I dunno, what do you want?"  
"..... A favor."  
"Well what is it?"  
He shrugged, tilting his head to observe her with a smile that screamed trouble.  
"I do not have anything in mind you could possibly help me with right now, but perhaps one day I might. So, one favor, to be named later."  
Her eyes narrowed to slits, but she wasn't cowed, oh no, she was far too riled up now. She could also tell the bastard was lying, or at least plotting hard on something to cause trouble. Didn't matter though, because she was going to win.  
"So what are the rules?"  
"You have not agreed to my winning bet yet."  
"I won't until I know if you're going to try to stack the rules in your favor against me to win. So, what are the rules?"  
His eyebrow twitched as murmurs flew through the crowd around them, but his smile only widened.  
"Alright. No glamour, mind altering magic, or illusions. No blows that could cause true death, for either of us.... Winner is called by one of us submitting, or being unable to continue under their own power."  
"And its just me and you, nobody else joining in."  
"Yes, of course. It -is- a duel after all."  
Right, she thought, whatever. Whispering voices flitted through her senses with a few soft words, and though she nodded, she wasn't backing down. They told her caution, be wary. It was okay, she already was, but if it was one thing she knew about fighting, it was spirit. If you came to a fight looking to win, to -really fight-, you could win. If you were the one who was head down, ready to flee beforehand, well, you were going to lose.  
"Alright, then lets go."  
He huffed a laugh, turning to make a gesture to one of the others. A few of the men looked a bit worried, but the most of them looked eager, and some excited. She hoped at least a couple were at the thought she might hand this asshole his head. Not literally of course but that was beside the point.  
One soldier strode out and stopped beside her, making her turn to him questioningly. Just as she did, understanding dawned, because he bowed, holding his sword up across the flat of his palms.  
"Please my lady, use my sword."  
The preferred blade was simple, made of the iridescent silver metal most were, with a dark colored hilt twisted with bursts of ruby red. She did not hesitate, but reached out to reverently take the sword from him, waiting while he straightened and met her eyes.  
He was still young, even by the sidhe standard if she remembered correctly, a teenager by her own. His youthful face still had the softness of youth, with pale skin that held the edge of a grey hue like Wraith's. But his eyes spoke for his own prowess in battle that he had won by hard fought determination and skill, a clash of red, white, and black as he looked at her. With his black hair pulled into a high ponytail, almost hiding the bold streaks of white that went throughout, it made him look his age she thought, but then that was just her. Still, she liked him well enough, what little she had been around him he had always been nice to her.   
"Thank you Arawyn."  
He seemed surprised that she remembered his name, but at her smile he nodded with a small one of his own in return.  
"I bet on you, my lady."  
"Really?! Well - thank you..."  
She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly as he actually grinned before inclining his head again and stepping back to the line of soldiers. When she turned back, feeling her spine straighten with determination in response to her stomach flipping with nerves, she caught Cainte's stare. He was glaring at the soldier, but then he turned to her and practically simpered.  
"If you are through, -my lady-, shall we begin?"  
His lip curled when he addressed her, making her roll her eyes before she thought better of it. His gaze narrowed but she heaved a sigh, hefting the unfamiliar blade to catch the weight of it. In her pocket there was a sudden buzz, making her jump.  
"T'hell?"  
Running he hand in her pocket, she found the crystal ball sitting there as if it belonged, no bigger than a marble, and she sighed. She didn't want to know, really she didn't, because this time she didn't remember dropping it into her pocket to begin with.   
"Hush."  
It hummed again as she hissed at it, and she caught strange impressions from it. A warning perhaps? She wasn't sure, but she also was not backing down. Wrapping both hands around the hilt of the sword she brought it up, meeting his challenging stare.  
"Yeah, m'ready."  
As one, the soldiers around them all moved back, giving them a wide area to move in, but they stayed close enough to watch, all trained intently on them. Then Cainte brought up his sword and took a step to the side. She quickly followed his lead, and they began to slowly circle each other while he watched her every move, calculating and assessing.  
A touch fluttered against her hip through the fabric of her dress, and she wanted to tell the crystal not to distract her. Then she remembered, and finally threw the door open to her magic, listening fully to the world around her. The high pitched wail of the crystal instantly silenced, and simply gave a lilting rumble of question.  
/I hear you, shush./  
Happy it had gained her attention, it did, finally, and she focused on her opponent. Around them the sounds from the other soldiers were muted, but there, simply background noise to her as she really listened to Cainte. Surprise actually made her stumble just the slightest, to which he began to smirk as they circled. She had not known what his powers were, but hearing the music, she thought she knew.   
Around him was a soft breath of air, the tinkling sound of crystal chimes, the delicate hush of falling snow and the gentle clatter of bare branches in winter.  
Winter, she thought, cold and ice; something she was not terribly fond of.   
As easy going as his magic seemed at the moment, she would certainly bet that this was going to get very ugly, very fast.  
So lost was she in her own worry that the sound of a boot scraping the ground nearly did not register. She brought the sword up across, defensive automatically while flinching in surprise, just in time for their blades to slam together. The metal gave a groan of protest and an arc of sparks as he stepped right up into her space. His lip was curled disdainfully, eyes flashing with vicious anger while her feet inched backwards, body straining to hold still. He was barely pushing as he spoke, voice a low murmur, but carrying the frost of winter behind it.  
Had she mentioned the fact that Sidhe were four times as strong as her?  
"Pathetic whelp, pay attention! I will not allow you to breeze through this, or to claim later that you were not even trying! You will have no excuse when you loose!"  
Anger bloomed in her chest, but then he shoved forward. It caught her off guard, sending her stumbling back just a few steps as their swords separated. Before she could react a blow caught her across the cheek and she spun, sprawling as she hit the dirt with stars in her eyes. When she looked up, he still stood in the same spot, arm raised where he had simply back handed her. As if she were not worth a real fight.  
Real anger began to burn in her stomach, though she ignored the matching anger sparking on the faces of a few of the watching soldiers. She pushed to her feet, back straight as an arrow, lifting the sword again while his eyes blazed with satisfaction.  
Oh she understood the move, the cause behind it, why he'd done it. She'd embarrassed him before, and now he intended to return the favor.  
Her pocket gave a furious hum but she shushed it and readied her blade.  
"Alright, point made. Stop fucking off and come on then."  
He seemed took her at her word then, and charged forward. They met in a flurry of blows, swords singing through the air with the speed that they moved. The field rang with the sounds of metallic clangs, their curses or grunts, the slide of feet, and the thuds as he landed hits against her with the flat of his blade.   
They paused, stared at each other as she caught her breathe for a moment, glaring at him. She could feel several spots aching, but he had yet to draw blood, to use magic, to even -try-.  
"What did I say?! If you want to fuck off, I'm leaving. I've got too much shit to do today, and you're not taking this seriously. You're toying with me, and not even trying!"  
He went still, face flushed, and his eyes narrowed to dangerous pinpoints. Around them murmurs flew through the gathered soldiers, and Cainte nodded.  
"Fine."  
She was unprepared for the blast of arctic wind that followed the almost careless hand gesture he made. All that registered was that the music sounded rusty, strained, weak almost, right before it slammed into her and lifted her off the ground. For a heartbeat she was weightless, shock making her immobile for that single second before she hit the earth. The crystal in her pocket buzzed at her, and with the barest thought, the surge of intent to stop, her magic responded. The ground swelled, rolled up into a curve like a wave and solidified. She careened into it, breath rattling out of her lungs from the suddenness of it.   
"S-son of a bitch!"  
There was a bark of laughter, and she pushed up on her hands, tossing her hair out of her eyes to look as Cainte eyed her triumphantly. Her sword lay between them where she'd dropped it upon losing her footing, but she had no time to dwell on it. He swept his sword up, pointing it at her, and his music pinged loudly. Ice shimmered into being, mimicking the length of his sword, and he brought it round in an arc before hurling the spikes at her. Panic made her shove back against the soil, throwing up one hand as she called a wall of fire as fast as she could.  
With a loud pop it blazed to life inches from her, forming almost easily into the wall she'd wanted. His ice hit her magic, sizzling away as it melted when passing through. It wasn't hot enough to completely melt it though, and the two shards a little bigger then a pencil made it through to clatter to the ground in front of her.  
Finally catching her breath, she pushed to her knees, shoving away the wave of soil behind her, but the flames stayed, flickering hotly in front of her like a shield. She met Cainte's grin for only a second before the same wind came screaming forward again. It hit her flames and snuffed them out like a candle, making her gasp in shock before it rolled her again.  
This time she pushed to the side, sliding out of harms way after just one tumble, coming up on one knee and planting her other foot. Cainte just shook his head as if talking to a child, tsking at her.  
"Nice try, but flames blow out easily before a great wind. You have no training in fighting with your magic, you are like a fledgling throwing around the first thing that comes to mind. You do not think! You are pathetic! Not fit to be the consort of our prince! Our people will never bow to you!"  
His tone became more heated, snapping the words out with as much ice as he'd just wielded. Looking up through her hair a wild tangle around her, she felt something stirring at his mocking snarl. Her chest tightened at his words, and a burst of bright, raw fury spilled through her veins with the knife edge of determination.  
"I've never asked -anyone- to bow to me! And who I am to Tristan is not your call! Now I know what you're problem with me is, though I damn well don't understand where it came from, but you can fuck off! I am not a child!"  
She shoved to her feet, stumbling once as her body ached in protest, the field fell entirely silent as she balled up her fists and shook with the force of her anger. But as she spoke, her nerves steadied, and around her wind rose, lifting her hair, humming in tune with her magic that was beginning to spit and arc with power. Against her thigh, the crystal was almost burning hot.  
"And I will not be treated like one you pompous, overbearing, snake!"  
His jaw dropped in surprise as she flung out her hands. Without a specific thought, the dark curl of magic whipped forward in a flash, hitting him with the force of it, only a flicker of the shadow visible in the sunlight. He threw his hands up, staggering backwards with the blow, the crack of it echoing across the fields.   
She froze in surprise, as did he while his hair settled around him, grey eyes wide on hers. After a moment he looked down, and across his chest was a slice in his tunic, the fabric gaping open. Something fell upon the silvery material, and he jerked, raising his hand to his face incredulously. She covered her own mouth in surprise as he brought his fingertips from his cheek to show them wet with a pale blue liquid. Around them shock brought the soldiers to murmuring, and his hand shook as he heard them.  
"First blood.."  
"She drew first blood on the captain!"  
"A human has drawn first blood.."  
His hand curled into a fist, beginning to shake as he raised his head, and she caught sight of it. Perfectly in line with the slash on his tunic, as if she had thrown a real whip at him, was a small cut up his cheek from his jaw. Another bead of blood dripped out, and his eyes were suddenly glowing with fury, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, lip curled in a ferocious snarl.  
"You will pay for that whelp..."  
She had no time to respond, to move, before she heard his music howl with his anger. It careened into her, a frigid burst of air that brought thousands of stinging, biting pains with it. She felt the slices open, smelled her own blood in the air as she tried to dart away from it. They burned across her skin, even as the cold made her bones ache. She gasped, felt the air like fire it was so cold down her throat and flung her hand up towards him as best she could. There was a shout, and the barrage of ice stopped, long enough for her to see him stumbling up straight. The earth had responded, bowed up and tossed him backwards, though it hadn't hurt him. She realized now without the wind screaming around her that the soldiers were all yelling, gesturing and throwing their fists in the air as they cheered either him or her on.   
Thoroughly confused, she backpedaled at a sudden noise, just fast enough to see the blade whiz by her face from his swing. She tripped and hit the ground, hurling a wall of fire at him so he couldn't follow her down. As he spit a curse and moved back, just long enough to douse the flames himself, she saw the glint of metal and leapt for it. Fingers grasping at the handle she barely caught it up, rolling onto her back at the pounding footsteps behind her and bringing it up across her, one hand on the bare blade. Sparks rained over her as his blade crashed into hers, brought down in an overhanded blow as if he'd meant to bury the blade from her shoulder to her navel. Blood was already dripping steadily from her palm.  
"Y-you son of a b-bitch! What're y-you -"  
"Just shut up and die you whore!"  
His hissed curse just barely reached her, and she gaped at him in furious shock as he reared back. With another gesture spikes of ice formed and speared towards her before she could react again. The burning pain told her several had scraped her along her arms and legs, but the white hot bolt of pain had her shouting out. She tried to jerk her arm up, but her left shoulder was pinned, blood a crimson splash across the pencil thin spike embedded in her muscles down to the ground underneath her. The other spikes had hooked her clothes, but while she would've just ripped those, did in fact yank the ones around her legs loose, she couldn't budge the other one.  
"Damnit! You-"  
"Weak, mewling, worthless human! Submit before I end you and gain the fury of the prince for ridding him of such a burden!"  
"Hell no!"  
His snarl was furious, but his eyes screamed victory, and she tensed, reaching for her magic. His blade swept up over his head, and though her grasp was slippery, the pain making things fuzzy, she had reached for this particular song enough for it to be familiar. It burst to life as he brought the blade down, gleaming with the pale promise of death, her sword useless on the ground feet away. But her magic responded, came up with a slithering hiss and the sound of rattling bones.  
"ENOUGH!!"  
They both froze instantly at the furious roar, Cainte stumbling only slightly with his feet on either side of her legs, muscles locking mid swing. His sword was pointed down, as if he meant to chop it across her again since the first blow hadn't worked. But both of them whipped around to look, wide eyed, to find Neit standing in a small space among the soldiers. His eyes were molten gold with fury, hands balled into shaking fists, his magic an angry clatter around him. The surrounding soldiers had parted like the red sea, giving the pissed off Sidhe a wide berth, edging cautiously away.  
"How -dare- you attack her-"  
"N-no Neit, it was a d-duel."  
Her voice was breathless, strained and shaky, but enough to be heard. Cainte and the soldiers all looked at her as if she were mad for speaking back to the UnSeelie Captain, but she didn't care. He met her gaze, and the air seemed to settle slowly around him as if he reigned in his temper inch by inch. Until he was through, not a soul moved.  
"Then I call it a draw and it is over. Step away from her now."  
"It is no-"  
Cainte opened his mouth to argue, face flushing as his own anger erupted, but the jerky movement brought him forward slightly. It made him yelp, startle back in surprise, and look down. Hovering there in the air was a blade of shadows, deathly pale in the sunlight, edged in darkness and still where they had both frozen. He sputtered as he touched his throat, the thin line of blood like a ghastly smile against his pale skin, and he dropped his sword in shock.   
"A-a draw....?"  
Neit stomped over and knelt beside her, one big paw coming down to land on her arm beside the spike still in her shoulder. His hand was gentle as he tugged free the spike, despite her hissed curse, and she dropped the sliver of magic that kept the blade corporeal.  
"Yes, a draw. The rest of you disperse. -Now-."  
The other soldiers scattered, save for Arawyn who picked up his sword and sheathed it before kneeling on her other side. He seemed hesitant of nearing Neit, but she sent him a strained smile.  
"Th-thank you for lending me your sword Arawyn."  
"Of course my lady... you did amazing, made those of us that rooted for you proud..."  
Cainte had not said another word, but had staggered off in a shock to a circle of soldiers that were glaring heavily at her so long as Neit was not looking at them. She sighed and let her head thump back against the ground.  
"Hi Neit."  
"Princess, you are going to be in much trouble."  
"Yeah, I know..... its gonna be pretty bad. Hey, can either of you heal this damn hole a little? I have another errand to run before I can go see Iridius. He ain't gonna let me leave once he sees all this."  
Neit sighed heavily, and Arawyn snickered as he started plucking ice from her clothing to help her get up.   
"Healing is not my forte."  
She glanced over at Arawyn, who shook his head apologetically, and sighed.  
"Damn. I haven't quite gotten the hang of healing myself, its too dis... tract...ing..?"  
Her pocket made another chime of sound, and once she shifted, the guys carefully helped her to sit up. For a moment the world blurred around the edges with the pulses of pain shooting out from the literal hole in her shoulder, and she had to swallow hard to keep her breakfast down. Wait, had she eaten breakfast? Maybe it was supper.  
She shook her head and reached into her pocket, curling her hand around the crystal, lifting it out with a long sigh as the world settled back on its hinges correctly with only the faintest edges of black around her sight. It was better than a moment ago.   
"What do you want?"  
The two sidhe shared a strange look between them as she held the marble up at eye level on her palm and spoke to it, but she ignored them for a moment. It rolled back and forth a few times with an adamant chime, and she squinted at it.  
"Fine, go ahead."  
"My lady, did you hit your head on the ground?"  
Neit sent Arawyn a scathing look for his question, which quailed the younger soldier into wide eyed silence, and sat back a little to watch. She thought he'd catch on to what the crystal was in a moment. After the other day she had already learned that Neit was to Boreas was Stratos was to Tristan; not just his captain, but his closest friend, keeper of his secrets. That meant he was sure to know most of hers that Boreas did.  
Of course, Boreas totally had much more lurid secrets than Tristan did, but it was still the same point.  
The heat on her palm brought her attention back, and the glow coming from the crystal was steadily growing brighter. It was emerald green in color, edged with silver and gold as it shifted, looking like pearlescent clouds passing in front of the sun. The music, a soothing melody that seemed so strangely familiar, rose slightly in volume, and the heat shot up her arm. It burned in her shoulder, making her grit her teeth, but she pushed away the thoughts, staring intently at the little marble which was Merlin's crystal sitting gently in her palm.   
Because that bothered her. The music, still playing, struck a chord within her, deep in the recesses of her mind where old memories lurked, long buried under cobwebs and dust. A flash of something passed her eyes an she grasped at the flimsy memory. A dim room, smoky and warm, worn furniture and hand painted walls, her mother's huge stereo with the record player on top spinning one of the black discs. Someone held her up, crooned the words to the forgotten song, pretended to dance with her with a bright smile. Chubby hands reached out to pat against a smooth face with mirrored dimples, green eyes, and brown hair that fell across his forehead in wavy curls. The scent of stetson, cigarettes, and the barest hint of the same music coming from him.   
"Dad?"  
Reality returned with a pop as the music jerked back into the crystal, making her gasp at the sudden loss. She shook her head as the fragmented memory slipped away, clutching the crystal as she grabbed her throbbing forehead.   
"My lady are you all right?!"  
She blinked open one eye to look at Neit, whose eyes were pinched with worry, leaning back and looking at her with concern but obviously afraid to touch her.   
"What? Yeah I feel - uh, wow... I feel.. fine."  
Quickly running her hands over her her jaw and arms, then reaching upon tentatively touch her shoulder with shock, she realized she was in fact completely better. It made her raise up the crystal to peer at it incredulously, and finally speak.  
"Thank you... and uhm, yeah, m'okay now Neit. Maybe just a little shaky. Help me up please guys, I still have to go see Govannon."  
They both froze with her teetering halfway up, and she squeaked at the stop, catching their attention from staring at her in surprise to get them moving again. Arawyn mumbled an apology as he brushed her arm off and bowed.  
"Sorry my lady... I must go now."  
"Oh, uh, its okay. Well, I'll see you later - thanks again Arawyn.."  
She watched him whirl and trot off, wondering, until she turned to Neit who seemed to have returned to his usual stone faced stance.  
"What?"  
"Why are you going to see the smithy?"  
"Oh. Well I've been helping Marcellus. We were suppose to go together, but the king called him back to finish some touch up for his midsummer festival outfit last minute, and he still needed a few things, so I volunteered to help him. I took some notes he had to a couple other nobles, and the last thing was a list to take to the smithy."  
Neit was staring at her incredulously, and finally he crossed his arms, heaving a sigh while he looked up at the sky as if asking for patience.  
"Of course you did. Do you wish me to accompany you?"  
She beamed a smile at him, dropping the crystal into her pocket and tugging out her letters.  
"Thank you Neit but it's okay, when I get through with this I'm going to go find Tristan so you don't have to. I'll try not to get into anymore trouble before then."  
The UnSeelie captain snorted, and she laughed. "I did say -try-."

 

Her first impression of the smithy's workshop was the strongest pang of homesickness she had felt yet. The building was old but well kept, made to look almost like a barn from back home of wood and iron. The thing that stopped her was the fact that it was built in exactly the same fashion as her grandfathers shed had been, with the huge workshop on the left and the open entryway, with a smaller closed off portion to the right that had a regular door with windows. She could tell it was deeper than it originally looked as she drew closer, avoiding the piles of scrap metal and enormous containers that held everything from tools, swords, and metal wire to brightly colored gemstones. The floor was still hard packed earth, well worn from walking over it, and she brushed off the familiarity; she had too much to do.   
The heat from inside, coupled with the smoke pouring out from the chimney like structure on top had her pausing, as well as the distant sound of metal ringing as something was hit with a steady rhythm.  
"Hello??"  
The sounds didn't pause, so after a moment she clutched the notes to her chest and carefully moved around the bins and tools to go farther inside. Perhaps the Smith was simply busy and couldn't hear her?  
Following the sound finally brought the rushing sound of wind to her, and she recognized it as bellows. One look back over her shoulder had her eye twitching, because the place was in fact much bigger than she'd have imagined, but the outside seemed three times as small as what was inside. Magic perhaps?  
"Or its the freaking tardis."  
She shook her head and cut off her laugh at her own stupid joke, instead trying to call out again. Now she could see the light and the edge of the biggest, most intricately designed forge she'd ever seen.  
"Hello? ....Govannon? ....you gotta be in here somewhere."  
So maybe she was focused on the forge, not looking around much, or paying attention to the fact that the pinging sound had finally stopped. It was surely the most gorgeous thing she'd ever beheld.  
It was the great maw of a dragon, the entire head, the real size of one too. Made of something that gleamed like polished obsidian, it still held a sheen of the darkest blue, reminiscent of the night sky itself back home. There were small holes here and there, letting the light from the fire inside pour out like starlight, sending patterns across the walls behind her. The horns were pure black, several spikes dotting across the wedged head as it rested on the ground with its mouth wide open, and the eyes looked like mercury. Inside its mouth was the forge itself, crackling with a fire so hot it was nearly white with a dark blue and black center, somehow not melting the metal instruments and things that criss crossed inside for the smith to work with. She wanted to touch the side, see if the scales were actually real, because every detail was crafted so carefully, the detail so precise, she would almost think it was alive.  
Almost.  
"This has to be Aranduil..."  
"Aye, twas he who breathed the fire to light my forge."  
She whirled around at the gruff voice, wide eyes going up, and up, and up, to find the Smith standing right behind her, tugging off heavy looking gloves and setting them down on a bench at his side. He was the tallest Sidhe she had yet seen; and that was saying something, surely he was nearly eight foot tall. The scorched and marked apron came off next, which he tossed over his gloves before running his hands to settle his ponytail which curled thickly all the way down his back. A wave of his hand brought several lights around them to life, illuminating the room, and them, with regular light. It made her squint at the strange change, since everything had been dark before with only the forge's glow.  
"What d'ye need lass?"  
She jumped, realizing she had just been staring, rather rudely in fact.  
"S-sorry! Uhm, hi, I'm Aurora!"  
His face, with a strong jaw and broad features, never changed, like stone settled there over the years into one expression. His skin was a deep, dark, tanned brown, but filled with thousands of pinpoints of gold like the dust had been sprinkled over him. She wondered if both were his normal look, or if they were from the forge. He put his hands on his hips, wearing simple dark pants, huge dust covered boots, and a white sleeveless shirt that hung a bit loosely on him, decorated with just as much soot as his apron had been. His hair was a bright red, shimmering like real fire behind him, reminding her of Aedh's but brighter, with eyes that were narrowed on her which seemed to be made of molten gold.   
He even had several gold hoops and intricately designed wire wraps around colored gemstones decorating his ears, which were pointed at the tips.   
Not full Seelie Sidhe, she thought in surprise.  
"Right, uhm... I came for Marcellus."  
His face actually twitched a little, as if trying to frown, and somehow the slight change made it that much more severe.  
"Why?"  
"Well see, we were both gonna come so he could show me some things for something he was gonna make me but then this morning when I showed up the King had called him to come back last minute for some changes or something on his Midsummer festival outfit, so Marcellus was freaking out because he had so much to do and was afraid he wouldn't be able to get it all done so I volunteered to help him out, and he let me run some letters around for him and one of them was a list for you because he knew you needed some time to get the stuff together he would need and didn't want to rush you."  
When she got through, she took a deep breath and paused, because he was staring at her, eyes a little wide.  
"Sorry I... get carried away sometimes. He ended up busy with last minute stuff, so I brought you this list of his for him so you could have time to get the things he needs..."  
Looking carefully at the papers she had, she pulled out the thick letter that was for him and held it up. He seemed to think about it a moment, eyes trailing up to peer at her as if quietly assessing her, before he finally took the envelope. With a surprisingly gentle touch, he tugged open the envelope and scanned over the list and attached note, brow furrowing momentarily before he nodded and laid it down next to his apron, smoothing it out while he spoke to her.  
"Show me yer crystal lass, so that I can see what I need to work with, if ye have it."  
She nodded, pulling out the ball and holding it up for his inspection. As if a flip had been switched, he reached out to grab her wrist and pulled her along as he began muttering things. Some were louder, questions to her about what function it would serve, how she wanted to wear it, what would she do with it, and a thousand more she sputtered out surprised answers to. Once he had dragged her through the entire shop surely four times, showing her some of the most beautiful metals, wires, and stones she had ever seen, of which he had seemingly gathered an arm full of, they returned near the forge to a well lighted workbench. He sat down and gestured for her to sit as well, separating out the piles while she paused. She only hesitated a moment, more than intrigued to watch him work, and very carefully moved some things off a spot on the table across from him. Then she hopped up into the spot and crossed her legs, propping her chin in her hands to watch.   
He glanced up at her and paused a moment, seeming surprised, before his lips seemed to twitch up on one side and he went back to his tinkering. Utterly entranced with the deft movements and confidently quick use of his different tools, she settled in to watch. At some point he broke the silence to ask her about how she knew the dragon his forge was made after, and she quietly told him the story while he worked away. In return, once she was through, and had gotten over her surprise because he'd actually huffed a laugh at her after hearing how the child had simply trusted the dragon without further question, he began to tell her his own story.   
It was how he and his brother had actually been protegees under Llyr and Aedh, learning the craft at the hands of masters he called them, until the catastrophe had struck. Some time after, on a trip to the UnSeelie court, the young prince had seen some thing that the smith had crafted, and been amazed with his work. He had asked the smith, then Boreas, and finally Aurii, and not long after Govannon had his own workshop at the Seelie court.   
"But to work with the metals and stones that I use, I must have a fire of the purest form. It is hard to make on yer own, and even then, ye must have the materials inside the forge to keep it burning. It was whilst I looked through the depths of the 'forbidden' forest, as these Seelie call it, that I ran into the dragon. Twas a sight to behold, for he was fighting a younger, upstart dragon. When I saw his fire, I knew I wanted it for my forge. While I stood there, I saw a second dragon trying to sneak up behind him. Before I thought better of my own bullheaded idea, I ran forward and stabbed my blade through its front leg. It gave the Elder dragon enough warning from the commotion to best the first one and then catch the second one. He gave me a curt thanks and left with the two in tow to take em back to their sires for the trouble they had caused. I returned and began making my forge that very night."  
She was wide eyed and sitting on the edge of the bench listening to his story, the deep rumble of his voice punctuated by delicate clinks of metal as he worked.  
"Then what!? How'd you get his fire?!"  
The smith chuckled, continuing to work, and continued.  
"It took me months, fortunately for me yer Prince is a patient one, even in his youth. Twas the very day I finished buildin and fillin my forge that I heard the gods worst commotion out in the trainin field, and ran out to see. Aranduil had found me. He was rather put out, tellin me he had wanted to thank me, and after returnin for several weeks to the UnSeelie Sithen tryin ta find me, he had finally asked my king where I was. He wanted t'grant me a boon in his gratitude, and of course ye can guess what I asked for. He was rather impressed with my workmanship as well, and has come back several times over the years to check up on me, and see m'new works. Dragons be thoroughly enchanted with treasures, especially the males, and after his first visit back, I started t'make different things fer him as gifts. He always said if my forge ever went out that he would even relight it fer me. Tis a generous offer ye know."  
"Woooooooooooow, that's so cool! Like, thats the coolest thing ever!"  
Govannon chuckled again, and they lapsed into another companionable silence, her watching intently, wondering how the stones and metal seemed to bend to his will almost before he began to do it.  
"Hey... Govannon?"  
"Aye lass?"  
"Could you... maybe show me how to make something?"  
He paused, lifting up those golden eyes to blink at her for a moment.  
"What do ye wanna make?"  
"A... pendant, maybe? Or perhaps an armband? I'd like to.. make it before.. ah... the festival."  
She looked down, twisting her hands together as she flushed, and he made a hum, looking back down at his work.  
"Aye, I s'pose I could... the young prince doesn't wear terribly flashy things, even if he likes the unusual designs I often make... a torc made by yer hand would surely be something."  
She flushed deeper as she whipped up to look at him, only to see him working on the wires again. After a moment she started to smile, relaxing when he didn't make fun of her.  
"Thank you Govannon..."  
"We'll see if ye thank me after ye've burned yer stubborn hide on m'forge."  
"How do you know I'm stubborn?"  
He snorted, and she perked up a little, intrigued.  
"I saw yer duel with his snooty captain hisself out there."  
"Oh..."  
He was quiet a moment, and finally muttered again.  
"Serves his fool arse right. Should have cut 'is head off. Ye did good lass."  
She blushed and mumbled a quiet thank you, which he shrugged off.  
"Tis the truth. Now, watch how I do this here, ye will need to know this."  
"Okay!"

 

Govannon finished the necklace for her very quickly, and she squealed with delight when he handed it to her. It was a light silver chain, very strong but delicate looking, weaved around to the wrap itself. He'd made a small cage to slip the marble sized crystal into, which had a weighted clasp at the back. He said that should the crystal change it would fall open once the weight was too much, and it would keep it from breaking. She had known telling him about its propensity to change shapes would be handy. He'd places little emerald leaves around it, with a pearlescent flower adorning the top, and hung little blue shells around the bottom with an iridescent prism in the center.   
Earth and water she thought, wondering why that specifically kept coming up around her.   
Then he captured her attention by telling her they could make the base for the torc right then if she had time, to allow it time to set overnight once they were through, and she could come back the next day to decorate it with whatever she liked.  
"How am I going to pay you back for all this? Its too much Govannon-"  
"Nay, yer prince has long since given me far more than this, tis nothing at all. Now come, ye are goin ta be doin this all on yer own, I refuse to even touch it."  
"But-"  
"Ah! I will show ye lass, dinna doubt yerself 'fore ye have even started."  
"Well.... alright...."

 

Hours later, she was glad he'd had her put on one of his oversized aprons and some gloves. It had saved her dress, somewhat, although Marcellus would still freak out when he saw it from the duel earlier. She washed her hands and face with water to remove the worst of the smudges while she pondered. They had finished the torc itself, but he had explained about the front. She needed to decide what to put there, and then they would make the things that fit over the raw ends on the front to hold the stone. Or whatever she chose.  
Thing was, she could feel a weirdly restless idea while she thought, because she wanted something perfect, oddly specific, and she didn't think that anything she'd seen yet in his huge shop of things would do.  
She shrugged it off for the moment and hurried out, tugging at the crystal which hung peacefully, and quite happily if the chirpy little tune it was constantly humming was any indication, around her neck from its new pendant. Fortunately for her, Govannon had pointed out that the court would be out in the next thirty minutes, and she wanted to be inside, waiting on Tristan. That was where he'd been all day was the courts, because it was the last day they would hold them until nearly a week after the midsummer festival. A big holiday it seemed.  
"Thank you so much again -"  
"Hush with that lass, now off with ye. He is goin ta be madder than a wet dragon anyhow."  
"R-right! I'll be back tomorrow!"  
She squeaked and took off then, bolting out of the smithy and running for their rooms. Somehow she thought still wearing the tattered dress when he found her would be a bad reminder, so she wanted to shower and change.

 

She tugged on a simple pale blue dress after her shower and shot barefooted down the hallways like the hounds of hell were on her heels. The courts were surely out now, and obviously the story had gotten around because the other nobles and servants she passed were all giving her strange looks. She supposed she deserved that.  
It was when she was nearly there that she heard it. His music exploded out like a nuclear blast, causing her to skid to a halt and rethink her strategy.  
"Maybe I should go hide at the UnSeelie court for a few days..."  
She glanced over her shoulder, wondering if she might could actually make it, before footsteps caught her attention. One set of footsteps, purposeful and intent as they clicked down the hallway. Going utterly still, she watched the far end of the hall with wide eyes, shrinking a foot and a half as the figure appeared. Without missing a beat, he turned on his heel with military precision, coming towards her with his hands in fists, and face a stone cold mask of fury. His sea blue eyes were throwing sparks, glowing with the magic she could hear roiling under his skin with the sound of a storm growing closer. She actually took a half step back, swallowing convulsively, unsure of where to start. He didnt seem to be checking up, his cerulean hair billowing around him, white and silver robes flared out around his blue and black tunic. How did he look that damned good when being that damned mad? He looked absolutely -wild-.  
Not the time, she told herself, trying to straighten out her back just a little.  
She currently missed the funny smile he usually sent her every time he saw her, and it made her shrink again.  
"S-so uhm... h-hi Tristan... how w-was court today?"  
Lightening cracked overhead as his eyes narrowed to pinpoints. Oh shit.  
When he reached her, he never uttered a word, moving in a blur to grab hold of her. She gave a shout of surprise as she collided with his chest, his arms locking around her back and knees like iron bars. Automatically she clutched at his neck, and felt his touch soften ever so slightly, even if he hadn't been hurting her to begin with. He carried her down the hallways back to their rooms, where he kicked the door open, making her flinch, and swept inside. She still had not seen, nor heard, hide or hair of the others when he sat her down, spun to slam the door, and lock them inside.   
The silence made her shift from foot to foot guiltily, and very tentatively, she opened her mouth.  
"Tristan... I'm sorry, I -"  
"Are you?"  
She squeaked, snapping her jaw shut with wide eyes. He'd moved so fast she missed it, and now he was just suddenly in front of her, face set in angry lines, voice deadly soft. His hair was still settling around him when he spoke, and she realized she was looking at the prince's court face, the careful facade, not her - ah, not Tristans.  
Oh he was positively -feral-. She was in sooooooo much trouble.  
His power was roiling over her, churning like angry waves to fill the room with the heady feel and scent of it, the distant crashing of thunder a background that bespoke of the minefield she stood on. One she didn't know how to get out of.  
"Yes..."  
Her voice came out tiny, eyes steadily trained on him to watch for his next move.   
"For. What?"  
The click of his teeth was audible as he leaned even closer, getting almost nose to nose with her though he didn't bend to her level, and she had to keep her head tilted back to watch him.  
"For... ah... for...."  
She was searching as quickly as she could, but nothing was coming up. She knew, as well as he did, that she wasn't going to flat out lie to him. That meant she wasn't going to tell him she was sorry for something she wasn't, even if it got her into hotter water.  
"That... I was... kind of reckless... and for... doing it without... any of y'all there....?"  
She couldn't help that the end came out more like a question, knowing good and well that what she'd said wasn't what he -wanted- to hear. Although again, she wasn't lying.  
"Not for getting into a duel with one of the most well trained swordsman in my fathers army?"  
Minutely shaking her head, she edged back just a step when he curled his lip on a growl and took one forward.  
"How about for nearly dying in front of the entire army, half of which were on your side and nearly committed insubordination to try and save you?"  
Another shake, another step back as his voice grew harsher, and a little louder.  
"What of causing the political backlash because you are the high princes consort, yet still agreeing to duels that bring you scrabbling in the dirt for your life, -while neither your guards nor your Prince know anything of the danger you face-?!"  
"B-but he-"  
"He goaded you into a fight knowing that you had no one to defend you, no one to keep him from 'accidentally' killing you in the heat of the battle! And it would have been a fair duel, there would have been nothing I could do save slaughter him in cold blood for such an offense! Do you realize what being mortal means?! You are a human, yet you constantly let your rash actions provoke you into dangerous situations without even thinking!!"  
"Tristan, I -"  
"Do not think! You only react with whatever brazen emotions fly through that stubborn heart of yours! You - you do not even see the danger you could be in right now!"  
Struck utterly speechless, she had no response, no idea what to say back to him. What could she say to that, which wouldn't make him even madder? But why would she be in danger now?  
Her legs hit the edge of the bed, and before she could topple backwards his hands shot out, grabbing her collar and jerking her up, nose to nose, eyes blazing as his voice dropped to a dangerous rumble that made her already pounding heart spike.  
"Do you even understand how furious I am with you?! Do you think nothing of my power, my strength, when I am this angry?? Have you no concern for yourself, or -what I could do to you-!?"  
"Tris-"  
He shoved, and she fell back with a startled yelp, bouncing once, then landing in an ungainly sprawl. Before she could blink, he was there, one knee between her thighs, hands wrapped around her wrists and slamming them down on the bed on either side of her head. Trapped beneath him, his power pushed at her like something alive, roaring over her system like a tsunami. Breathing was becoming increasingly more difficult, but it was just from the level of his power, not something he was doing. She was certainly gaining a newfound respect for the power she had barely seen him hint at before, but she wasn't worried.  
Strange thing, that.  
"HAVE YOU NO CONCERN FOR YOUR OWN WELL BEING?!"  
She went perfectly still at his bellow, wide eyed as he swooped down to offer that ocean blue gaze up close. His muscles were trembling with his emotions, his effort to stay still, to contain the power pushing under his skin, and yet his hold did not hurt her. Yes, she felt three inches tall, and sorry for worrying him, as well as really wanting to find a way to calm him down, because it distressed her that she had upset him so; but there was absolutely no fear.  
"Ye-"  
"Your Highness."  
She flinched at the voice, stoic and utterly calm, coming from the doorway. Tristan leaned up somewhat to turn enough to see over his shoulder, moving the curtain of his hair enough for her to lean around his arm to see as well. In the doorway stood Stratos, head high and shoulders perfectly level, looking as if he still stood in court before the king. Tristan's hands twitched, but Stratos continued before he responded, still standing at attention in the doorway. Careful movement made her notice that Wraith and Sine at least were behind him too. What the seven hells were they doing and what was with the your highness crap?  
"I believe you need to come with us and calm down for a time. Leave the mistress here and you can return for your talk afterwards my lord."  
Her jaw dropped, and Tristan's growl rumbled down to her bones.  
"Get out Stratos."  
"I must insist my lord."  
When Stratos took a step forward and paused, she gasped because the heat and weight were suddenly gone from above her. There was only a snarling blur of blue and silver, and before she thought better of it she was leaping forward. Her hand closed on the silk of his robes and she pulled with a breathless plea.  
"Tristan wait!"  
He froze instantly, rigid as he tilted his head to see her over his shoulder. The fury was buried behind a haughty, utterly cold mask, but she wasn't letting go.  
"My lady-"  
"Stratos shut it, and get out!"  
Stunned silence met her words, and even Tristan's eyes widened slightly.  
"We're talking, and he's fine! He's not hurting me nor has he made any move too, he's just pissed off, with good reason."  
"B-but, we-"  
"No Stratos, go on."  
She watched the captains face relax, and finally he nodded, turning to shoo the others out of the way and quietly close the door. Her hand slid free as Tristan turned slowly to face her again, and she sighed, taking her hand back to clasp them together and look at the ground.  
"I -am- sorry Tristan... you were right. I shouldn't have let him goad me into a fight.. its just... he was such an ass before, and I knew he wasn't going to stop if I didn't stop it myself. But if I always have to run to you to protect me, the other soldiers will never respect me, they'll just think of me as... the princes pathetic human, not worthy and all that. It just pissed me off..."  
He moved, but she stayed still, waiting, even when his robes came into her vision and she stared at his shoes. The power in the room had slowly ebbed, and a gentle touch on her chin surprised her. When she looked up, Tristan was gazing down at her as he heaved a sigh and shook his head.  
"Woman... you are the most infuriating, worrying creature.. I thought my heart would stop when they told me of the fight."  
"Sorry.."  
"Do not be, you are right in your assumptions... as much as it pains me to say it. I suppose I will have to teach you the rules of such things, so that you may use them against your foes. Such as you could have demanded a witness be present from your own choosing, which could have been any of us. Then he would not have been able to stretch thin the rules as he did."  
"Oh..."  
He shook his head and gave a soft chuckle that made her want to smile, and she was so stupidly happy to hear it. Before she thought better of it, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, hiding her face and the blush creeping up her cheeks. She had surprised him, but there was only the slightest hesitation before he lowered his arms to pull her close and press his nose into her hair. There were several moments of relaxed silence before he murmured something.  
"I would have, you know..."  
"Would have... what?"  
"Slaughtered him for harming my beloved... rules be damned.."  
Her heart stopped, then leapt into her throat, pounding hard enough to make her dizzy. She had no doubts that he would, but had he just said...?  
"I still might."  
His petulant tone made her bark a surprised laugh, and she felt his smile, though she hid her own expression still, tightening her hold on him for a few moments longer. There was a swooping, rushing feeling in her stomach, a tightness in her chest that was leaving her blood tingling through her system, and she didn't trust herself just yet.   
What could she say to that? 

\----

 

When they emerged into the hallway only minutes later, they found Stratos, Wraith, and Sine all waiting anxiously on them. There was a collective breath of relief from all of them as he and Aurora stepped into the hallway. Tristan stepped forward and reached out, his captain and long time friend meeting him halfway, his hand gripping the other mans shoulder tightly.  
"I am sorry my friend, I should not have snapped at you so..."  
"Think nothing of it, it is not the first time, and surely it will not be the last."  
They both huffed a laugh, which relaxed the others even more, but Sine cleared his throat. They turned to him, seeing him wide eyed and fixed worriedly on something behind them. They each turned to see, recoiling at the stormy look on Aurora's face. His relief that his friends were not upset with him was quashed by the look on hers, and he moved a step forward, holding up a hand to her tentatively.  
As if the past half hour had not happened, what he had done to her, how he had treated her.  
"Flower, whatever is the matter?"  
"How dare the lot of you treat him as if you think he would actually harm me!"  
He felt his jaw go slack as she grabbed his hand and twined her fingers with his, yanking him forward to stand beside her. Sweeping his gaze over his friends once he had straightened, he saw that they each held the same look of disbelief.  
As much as it pained him, he had to tell her the truth. Shame stung his throat, but he forced the words out, feeling as if he had swallowed rusted blades.  
"Do not treat them so Aurora, they have every right to react the way they did."  
She turned to him, viridian eyes wide in surprise, and Stratos moved forward in protest.  
"My lord-"  
"Nay Stratos, she will know."  
"Know what?"  
"In my childhood... well, while I was a good young heir to the throne, always with my studies, my practice with Iridius, and my fighting skills... there were times when my emotions would gain the better of me."  
He had to look down and away, unable to watch the change of emotion in her face he knew would come.  
"Despite my tutelage and upbringing, rebellion seemed to be something of a constant with me. My father and I have always fought, and I was hotheaded, bad tempered, wild, head strong... with the surging emotion came my powers, which slipped free the restraint I placed on them, the control... Then one day, I was so angry with my father that I ran to Stratos, my mentor, and he was in the armory. I told him what had happened, and he tried to calm me down, to even take me back before father grew more angry, because when I did something I was punished, sometimes severely. I became so angry that I lost control completely, and it took Iridius, Llyr, and several other Sidhe to contain the magic. I flooded the armory, enclosed it in a terrible storm, and ... severely wounded Stratos."  
He could feel his hands shaking, the absolute horror of what he had done, the shame and guilt burning like acid. Stratos murmured the rest of the story for him, for which he was glad.  
"I was only in the infirmary for a couple of weeks, but the king had the prince put.. below ground in the dungeons until I healed. I retrieved him myself once I was walking again, but had I known.."  
"It would have done you no good Stratos. And I de-"  
"I swear by everything that is holy if you are about to open your mouth and say you deserved it, I will - I will - I will dye your hair pink!!"  
He snapped his gaze around to her incredulously, finding her face flushed, tears welled in her eyes and her hands balled into fists, shaking with some emotion that lit her eyes with sparks.  
"Wh-what?"  
"You heard me! You were a -child- Tristan! Not a grown adult! You didn't do it on purpose! And he's obviously fine, and no worse off for it! It sucks, I would have felt bad too, but not to this! This is ridiculous! You wouldn't hurt me, and I know that! Not once was I afraid!"  
Stunned into silence, he could only gape at her, disbelieving.  
"What... what are you..."  
"This is ridiculous! And the rest of you should be ashamed for not having more faith in him!"  
He found himself looking, following her gaze to each of his guards, -his friends-, and watching them hang their heads and nod at her.  
"You are right.."  
"We should have.."  
"It has... just been so long since he has been so angry that I feared his control... and yet you are right, I especially should have held more faith in his control. I am sorry my prince."  
His heart was beating so loud that he was unsure how they could not hear it as well, staring at his friends in shock as they each nodded and bowed. Turning back at a light touch on his chest, he brought his hand up to catch hers automatically, looking into those eyes that had captured him the first time they locked on him in stunned confusion. Now they were fixed on him with warmth, pure faith and trust, and it made his knees weak, his chest tight. He finally spoke past his throat, which seemed to be fighting him for words.  
"There is that stubborn streak I spoke of, the reckless courage.. never worried about yourself."  
"I didn't have to be."  
"....thank you my flower... I do not know what else to say."  
She suddenly split into a bright smile, full of mischief that had his heart skipping a beat. Funny, it seemed to be doing that often lately.  
"How about let's get some lunch? I'm starving I haven't eaten since breakfa- hey don't laugh at me!"  
Before he could control it, the laughter had burst out, dispelling the lingering wisps of guilt that had been clinging to him despite her words. It rang out to the ceiling and returned, spreading to the others while she sniffed disdainfully at them. Her lips were twitching still, and he pulled her into a one armed hug against his side as the men leaned against each other laughing helplessly.   
"Of course my flower, let us go catch some late lunch from the cook. I am sure he will not mind."  
"I can second that!"  
They turned to see Boreas, Iridius, and Neit rounding the nearest corner, the traces of worry on their faces wiping away as they saw each of them smiling. Tristan nodded.  
"Then we shall all go, surely he will not turn us all away if we are particularly pitiful in our request."  
She rolled her eyes, but followed as he tugged her along, the others falling into step behind them still chuckling. Feeling far lighter than he had in a while as his uncle stepped up on her other side, sending him a wide smile, he glanced down at her again. Curiosity brought him to reach up and touch the pendant around her neck, making her startle and glance at him questioningly.  
"Where did this come from?"  
"Oh, that's where I was this morning. I was helping Marcellus by running some errands for him, and Govannon was the last stop I had. I'd asked Marcellus about making something to hold the crystal, and Govannon made it for me while I was there. His forge is so awesome! Did you know it was made to look like Aranduil?! Its so cool! And he's showing me how to make some things, he even told me how he made the forge and the story of meeting the dragon!"  
"Govannon...? The smithy? That Govannon?"  
She glanced at him strangely. "Well yeah of course, why?"  
Boreas snorted. "You see? She can charm any wild animal to her hand."  
"Hey! He's really nice!"  
The guards behind them snorted, and Tristan had to look forward to hide his smile.  
"Of course he is flower... perhaps he is just... different towards others than to you."  
"....hmph, well, he's my friend now too."  
"That is.. good flower."  
She sent him a suspicious look, but he very steadfastly held his tongue. No, he would not earn the wrath of her sharp claws right now, not over one she called friend.   
"Yeah..."

\----

The guys were all teasingly afraid of the cook it seemed, and they had said she would have to ask for lunch herself. When she'd not understood, and told them that she did this quite regularly for breakfast, showing up early or late, and the cook was her friend, she thought their eyes would bug out of their heads. Even Tristans.  
She had walked into the bustling kitchen, about to quietly ask if she could get something small to eat, and everything had frozen. At the odd noises, or lack thereof, the guys had curiously edged inside the door to see, while staying behind her. Chickens.  
Before she could speak, the cook had bolted over and picked her up with a booming laugh, whirling her around as he went on about how proud he was of her and how he wished he'd have seen it himself because that over bearing asshole had deserved to get knocked on his ass.   
Word traveled fast it appeared.  
So the cook had merrily made them all something to snack on and brought it out himself, much to the hilarious horror of her companions, which she quietly reveled in. Catching Boreas's eye she batted her eyelashes at him, then looked pointedly at the cook, and blew the Sidhe a kiss from her palm. Truly it was the UnSeelie's fault for referencing her ability to call animals and meaning surly Sidhe as well.   
Boreas had spewed tea across the far wall before roaring with laughter, since the cook had blushed and sprinted back into the kitchen to hide. Point for her.

Now, after everyone was through, it seemed they all wanted to linger, as if making up for the quarrels earlier. But something had been weighing on her, bothering her since the other day, and she was hoping to get a straight answer.  
Sitting between Tristan and Boreas, she looked across at Stratos, then Wraith, past Iridius, and to Sine.  
"Hey, Sine...?"  
His cup clinked as it sat down, braids swinging as he whipped around to look at her as if she'd screamed his name instead of quietly calling out to him. She wondered if he had been waiting on her to ask.  
"Could you tell me what was wrong with Belanus...?"  
The sidhe's normally bright eyes dimmed with some remembered sadness, and she instantly felt bad.  
"You don't have to tell me Sine, its okay-"  
"No, you need to understand.. perhaps... you could even help him."  
The others shifted around to be able to see him better, curiosity catching their attentions. Boreas and Neit were the only two who seemed stoic, although the King looked sad. She wondered if they knew.  
"Belanus's family was once a great, grand lineage, much how Boreas's is, and now Tristans. They were some of the greatest warriors, and the entire family were of bright, golden power, with the magics of life and light. Their wings... such a grandiose scene when they took flight, appearing over the battlefield with their weapons ablaze... the formorii ran terrified, for whilst they were terrible creatures, they were beings of shadow, of evil, and could not stand before the might of those warriors...   
"But because of this, the formorii struck the homes of the family specifically while the warriors were on the battlefield. It destroyed more than half of the family in one crippling blow. Once the war was over many split into different factions, and spread across the land... of course, there were less than fifty left then, from the slaughter, and the war combined, the house had nearly been wiped out.  
"Belanus was but a babe in the womb when the war began, and his mother a healer, his father a great warrior that perished in combat... When the lands began to separate, the UnSeelie and Seelie lines to be made, she continued to travel and heal. Belanus was a child then, but already powerful in his own right, able to protect him and his mother from most any threat. They traveled alone, for she did not wish to take sides in such a civil war, but she stopped at one of the UnSeelie camps to aid the wounded. In that time, she became enamoured with one of the generals, and then conceived a child with him. So when the war was ended, she went with him to live in the court of the UnSeelie and raise both children.  
"But the war had warped the generals mind, causing a festering hatred of all things he considered Seelie, and he slowly began to take it out on the golden child that belonged to his mate. She was... naïve perhaps, too good to truly see the evil in others, and did not suspect her own mate of hurting her child. She assumed his marks were from fighting with other children in play and learning, that he began to hide his wings to blend in with his new companions more. The younger child tried to protect Belanus, but it only made the fathers rage greater that his own son defended the 'golden child', and it made things worse. So he learned to fight, to fly, to defend himself against one of the greatest generals of the war, before his magic had truly begun to surface. Still a child, but hardened from battle, told every day that his fathers death was his own fault, that his powers were pathetic, useless, an abomination to be forgotten and pushed away. Still, he had his mother.  
"Then she conceived once more, but this time... her body did not support the babe, and both of them perished.."  
Aurora pressed her fingertips to her mouth, staring in horror at her friend as he unraveled a story that made her simultaneously so mad that she could go kill the sonofabitch that had hurt a -child-, and so sad that she just wanted to go try to comfort Belanus like he was still that wounded child.  
"Afterward, Belanus stayed much to himself, even around those of us who were his friends, his family. I am close in age to him, and although I was family and had stayed by his side, then I did not know just how badly he was being treated, or I would have went to the king myself. None of us knew..  
"We all saw how the child seemed to grow darker each day, and more rebellious, more spiteful of his father, how he grew to never show his wings, and became a stoic, lethal, bad tempered fledgeling. He trained in magic, in combat, and with the scholars, and his magics turned more to earth and animals, his secondary magic, because he grew with them and shunned his magic of the light.   
"Then came the day that the tensions broke. He and his father fought, and he refused to bow to him. It was against the rules to step between parents and children, because this was something that often happened, although remember we were unaware of just why, and what all his father had been doing to him. His mothers brother came then out of nowhere, and stepped into the fray. Surely he was one of the biggest warriors we had ever seen. He was a half brother to Belanus's mother, half Sidhe, half giant, with an even darker temper than both the child and father. But he had been searching for her, and the child, and he pulled the two apart with ease. Even with the fledgling still fighting mad, being held up by his tunic in the air like a babe, howling and trying to get to his father, it seemed as if it did not even cause notice to the older sidhe.   
"Some rumor had reached him, and he, and his twin, had instantly come to the courts to see for themselves. They took the boy away from the man, and the King allowed them to stay at the courts, and become one of the UnSeelie."  
She turned her gaze to Boreas, who was staring at his lap, jaw clenched, and wondered if it had been him. Then she looked back at Sine, still a little confused.  
"So.. I hope he beat that asshole to a pulp for one thing."  
Sine's lips actually twitched and he nodded. "Oh yes. The father made the mistake of trying to continue the abuse, and the Sidhe bashed his skull in. Unfortunately the man still lives, having healed from the battle, but never again came near Belanus. He does still visit his half brother at the court I believe, because the two became friends once he was out of the fathers reach."  
"Good... and that served the bastard right. So, how did he end up here though, if they were at the UnSeelie court?"  
The hand that had been sitting lightly on her shoulder squeezed once, bringing her gaze around to Tristan.  
"That would have been me. I believe you said you were told yesterday by Govannon how he ended up here yes?"  
"W-wait, -Govannon- is Belanus's uncle?!"  
"Yes flower. So when he came, Belanus came with him."   
The others chuckled at her surprise, and she shot them dirty looks.  
"Half giant... I guess that certainly makes sense.... "  
When she asked no more questions, the others began talking again, trying to lighten the mood before they all went back to their days. But she was quiet, thinking to herself and wondering if she could use Govannon to help her speak to Belanus. Perhaps he could help.

 

Aurora found herself walking between Boreas and Iridius after lunch was through, heading in the general direction of the scholar's rooms.   
"Hey, Iridius..?"  
"Yes child?"  
"....... is there a relic that is a trident?"  
Crystalline eyes turned to regard her with surprise and curiosity, hair tinkling as it fell over his shoulder with the movement.  
"Yes... there was. Why do you ask?"  
He held the door for her as they stepped into his study, and she mumbled a soft thank you, walking forward with a frown as she thought about it. It had really began to bother her, and she wanted some kind of answer. Boreas shared a look with the scholar before shrugging, and they turned back to her.  
"Aurora? What made you ask such a question?"  
"Wh-oh! Sorry I got lost there for a minute. Oohh squirrel and all right..? Ah... never mind. Anyway, I saw one the other day, and it... called to me, I guess."  
Iridius moved forward, face suddenly settled into an expression between worry and urgency as he grabbed hold of her shoulders.  
"Where? Tell me exactly what happened."  
She looked up at him in surprise, mouth working for a moment before she glanced over at Boreas to see he wore the same look. Well, damn, she thought. So, sheepishly and quietly, she explained the story to Iridius, leaving out like everything except the parts about the trident, hoping he wouldn't realize he hadn't heard about this particular trip to visit Llyr. She even described it as best she could, including the music she had sensed from it, and how it had felt as if it were beckoning her. How she had paused before she left, because the music had hit a plaintive note that made her want to turn around and pick it up.  
When she was through with with her explanation, she looked up to find both men staring at her.  
"Do you have any idea why it would have.... called to you so?"  
Before she thought about the answer, the words left her lips, following the nearly instant prompting of the whispers that flitted over her senses.  
"Because it wanted to leave. It has not seen daylight in far too long, it longs for its ocean again, and like the other relics it should be with the one who is worthy to wield it. It knows the water lords time has passed, and it begins to fade, captured, put back in the dark underground, left like an unwanted heirloom to collect dust..."  
She pressed her fingers to her lips, surprised as she stared wide eyed at the two men who were gaping at her. They shared a look full of something as she sat down heavily into a chair, and this time Boreas prompted her, splaying his hands out as he focused those metallic eyes on her.  
"Do you know whose it should be then?"  
Her eyes narrowed, and she snorted, rolling her eyes at him teasingly.  
"Right, as if that's a question you don't already know the answer to."  
He just blinked at her, waiting and she sighed.  
"Fine, then I'll say it: it should be Tristans."  
"So... why do you ask about it?"  
This time she leaned over, elbows on her knees as she stared at her hands, tried to form the words that she wasn't sure how to explain.  
"Because... its his?"  
"That does not sound like an answer, but another question..."  
Looking up through her fall of hair, she gave Iridius a narrow look, but he continued to watch her, waiting. Giving her the superbly patient face. Damn.  
"Yeah, yeah, take the pebble from my hand and all that."  
"What?"  
"Never mind... look, I just know it should be his. Like when I saw those reigns, and I knew they were Wraith's, or the staff belonged to Stratos. Maybe I need to-"  
She yelped when she was suddenly lifted out of the chair by hands like steel on her arms, eyes nearly crossing to focus on prism like eyes that were urgent, almost panicked.  
"Iridius what the fu-"  
"Promise me you will not try this!!"  
"I- what?! What the hell are you talking about?!"  
He shook her once, and Boreas reached forward, taking hold of the scholars hands to pry them back gently but firmly, and then tug her over to his side. Iridius looked haunted, shaken, and she was still just sputtering.  
"Do not shake the female Iridius."  
"I... forgive me.."  
He slumped into the chair she had just moved of, adopting the same position but propping his forehead on his hands while he breathed. Boreas turned to her and covered the slightly red handprints with his own, looking over her in concern.   
"It'll fade in a second, don't worry about that. Must be my day though."  
Boreas's eyebrow lifted curiously and she waved it off before she had to try to explain that one. She didn't think he would be quite as understanding of Tristan's upset earlier as she was.  
"Don't worry about it. Look, Iridius, its okay. I mean... I get that you're worried.. I'm kind of starting to understand how ... well, just how powerful he is. Or close to it anyway, I think.. its just that... he keeps it all pushed down, and that cant be good for him... can it?"  
Boreas turned to the scholar with a huff, slapping his hands on his hips.  
"You see?! Have I not argued this very point with many of you for years??"  
Iridius lifted his head enough to give the king a scathing glare, and she took that as her cue to step between them and hold up both hands.  
"Okay wait... so you've both worried about this at least. Which means there's something to this, if you've both thought about it! He's... like, almost afraid of his own power! That was Wraith's problem, remember? It was a different fear, but it was still -fear-, and now he controls it with ease because we helped him! I'm not talking about unlocking Pandora's box and running away-"  
Iridius stood up and made a wild gesture with both arms. "Do NOT tell me you have found -that- damnable thing as well!?"  
"I - I - what?! Wait, you know what, I -don't want to know-, I really don't! Do not even try to explain that one! That was just a turn of phrase from back home! Pandora's box what the hell..."  
"Ah... right..."  
"Yeah. ANYway... I just feel like it would be... I think we should. Why don't you, or... why don't the two of you talk about it and try to come up with something? Then... maybe we can talk to Tristan..."  
"What of you?"  
"I trust the two of you. Plus, I have a few things I have to go do.. like find Belanus for one, and find some kind of charm while I'm at it."  
"Charm..??"  
She was already walking off while they stood side by side looking after her in confusion, and she looked back over her shoulder with a bright smile.  
"Don't worry about it, you'll see later! I'll try not to get into anymore trouble!"  
Then she was out of the doors of the solar and hurrying across the grass. 

Back inside the solar, Boreas crossed his arms and snorted.  
"Does it worry you that she finds as much trouble as she does, when she is -not- trying?"  
"Gods watch over her."  
At the UnSeelie kings snicker, Iridius shook his head and turned.  
"You laugh, but I think they are the only reason she finds her way out of most of it."  
"And in it as well I suspect. So pertaining to what she said... do you think we could make a containment field that strong old man?"  
It was the scholars turn to snort incredulously at his long time friend, sending him a look.  
"With enough preparation, perhaps. I do not know if we will have any at all, and that is what worries me. She may be unable to call it purposely though... and I fear the calling of it without such preparation, or without any of us there..."  
Boreas's eyes pinched with worry as he walked over, stopping by the chair that Iridius sat down in, hands smoothing over the notes and papers scattered there.  
"Which means that we perhaps have no choice other than to try to call it, under our own circumstances."  
"That seems to be the option we are faced with..."

\---

 

"Belanus..."  
She stepped out of the brush cautiously, not wanting to startle the Sidhe who sat a few feet away under a huge, gnarled tree. His wings twitched at her voice, and the animal in front of him froze, swinging dark, liquid eyes around to her. Even she went still, watching his ministrations and not wanting to frighten it. His golden head was bowed, hair falling around him like a curtain, hands on the young animal that looked like a stag. It was a soft cream color, with short horns that were just beginning to grow in velvety purple spikes, and black spots over its back with black hooves. One of its legs was swelled, and it stood carefully to keep from putting any weight on it, flicking its ears at her while Belanus gently inspected the hurt ankle.   
"You may come closer if you wish, he is docile and will not mind."  
"...yes but will -he-?"  
Belanus finally raised his head to look at her, and her heart nearly broke in half. There were dark shadows under his eyes, and they were red rimmed, a little foggy as if he hadn't slept, and she knew instantly that it was her fault. Still, she swallowed back the feeling lest he see, and looked again beyond the young stag to the brush beyond. His tired gaze swept past and landed on the buck standing tall in the shadows of the trees, head raised proudly, displaying fully grown horns that she doubted she could wrap her arms around. He was colored just like the young one, but since the top of his head was taller than her own, she would bet he was a hell of a lot more dangerous.   
"Ahh... he is a proud papa, and while protective, they trust me. He watches you out of natural caution; had they have wanted, they would have run when we first caught wind of you, well before you found us."  
Flickers of light were filling his palms as he massaged the leg of the young one, and she could actually see the swelling going down, the body relaxing somewhat. But his words told her exactly what he'd meant them to; that he'd waited, even though he'd known she was coming. And the distinction of 'we' between him and the animals didn't go unnoticed either.   
Since it was the closest thing she had to an invitation to stay, and she did totally want to see the little animal, she took a deep breath and started forward very slowly. It swiveled its ears forward, watching her intently, and she definitely noticed Belanus getting tense. She tried what she usually did, extending the curl of music that was hers forward with a thought, keeping it soft as she reached her hand out as well to let the foal sniff at her. Tentatively it leaned forward, and Belanus shifted his grip to help stabilize it, lips twitching even though he tilted his head farther to hide it. After just a second the foal leaned back to let out a happy bleat of sound and whip its tail back and forth in excitement, and she took that as a cue to move forward with a laugh. She kept it distracted while Belanus finished healing its ankle, ignoring how he went rigid when she sat down beside him, folding her legs to pet the animal and coo at it. It brought her close enough that his wing brushed her side as he moved, and every time he nearly flinched.  
"There you are little one... try to follow your papa more closely, and not wander so much next time, hmm...?"  
The foal put a little weight on its ankle, and upon finding it better hopping surely three feet in the air, running away to kick out and spin before coming back, bleating excitedly. It bowled into Belanus who caught the animal and lifted it as it pawed at him, licking his face in gratitude while she dissolved into laughter.  
"Ah - come now, off with you!"  
He finally broke into a deep chuckle as he sat the animal on the ground, and it moved forward to gently hit its forehead against his cheek. They looked up as the father stepped up, nudging the foal aside with a low rumble of sound. It broke into a run and spun around, bounding off and back, and the stag watched after it with a long sigh before looking back. Belanus gave the animal a tender smile, and she watched as the full grown animal leaned down to touch its nose to his forehead and nuzzle him gently in thanks. She didn't catch what the Sidhe said, just the murmur of his voice as he reached up and patted the animals massive shoulder, and then it was off, walking much slower behind the excited crash of the young one.   
They sat a moment in comfortable silence, and then he sighed, but she spoke up first.  
"Belanus... I'm sorry."  
He whirled to see her, eyes going wide in shock, lips parting and closing like he didn't know what to say. She just looked down at her lap, curling her hands together with a sad smile.  
"I should have... tried to explain better before just springing something like that on you.. I never thought once that it may have some backlash to it, and I should have.. I was just- no, theres no excuse. I was a terrible friend, and I'm sorry."  
He jerked, wings flaring out behind him when she spoke the word, and he sputtered, making her turn to see him curiously.  
"F-friend?!"  
Her face fell, and she looked back down as her eyes burned. "Oh... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed-"  
"No no! That is not... I was just... I have not had someone call me friend in... many years."  
"Oh Belanus..."  
"No, do not... I still should not have left the way I did..."  
"You had plenty of reason... I would have run too."  
She felt his gaze on her and nodded.  
"Yeah, I asked Sine, and he told me... m'sorry if you didn't want me to know.. I just was really upset that I had done something to upset you and -"  
"You know?!"  
She slowly raised up to see him, blinking slowly in confusion.  
"About the piece of shit that hurt you because he was crazy? Yeah, at least, what Sine knew of the story.."  
"And yet you still come here, apologize to me, and call me friend?!"  
"I... seem to have missed something. What does one have to do with the other?"  
"I am an abomination!"  
She jerked back in surprise, utterly shocked.   
"What?! Why in the seventeen hells - Belanus..."  
He was shaking now, hands covering his face as he bent in half, wings pulled so tightly to his back that she wasn't sure how it wasn't painful. Maybe it was.   
She got up on her knees and scooted around in front of him, bending to slowly and carefully lay her arms over his head and shoulders in a semblance of a hug, pressing her cheek against the top of his bowed head. He flinched hard enough at the first touch that his wings shook, rustling with the force of it, his muscles locked rigidly under his skin which felt like it was sweating but cold at the same time. She could hear his breath coming in ragged pants, and suddenly it made sense; she knew this, what it was, what it felt like.  
"Shh, just breathe honey its alright... just breathe slow honey and don't focus on the scary things..."  
He shuddered, and she barely heard him chanting something, sounding like 'no, no, no'. Mind racing, she thought of something, and finally began to talk, murmuring softly to him. While she spoke she called a breathe of magic to her fingertips, stroking them in soothing circles over his neck and shoulders, feeling the barest brush if warm, fresh air circling them in response to her call.  
"How about I tell you a little of my world? Would that be okay?"  
His instant nod was almost frantic, and he reached out to fist a hand in the material of her dress. She scooted just a bit closer and kept herself wound around him protectively, wondering if he was aware he had began to rock back and forth slightly.  
"My world is not the most peaceful place... its not here either, but in different ways. I think humans have always had to fight for survival, and at some point fighting each other became commonplace, as if we were all trying to kill off the rest. Even when there were nobles, those that were the 'poor' people, slaves and peasants, lower class people throughout the centuries, had a bad time trying to survive. Back there, people turn to higher powers for answers, for help... for hope. Its not like here, where you all know your gods, its different. Like we've all pulled so far away that the threads are thin and barely there anymore. So while there are many religions, practices, and faiths, there is one in particular that has spanned centuries and countries. In that, there are figures who were great symbols; protectors, guardians, holy beings that cared for others and were companions to the god himself."  
She left out all the wars fought over the differing views, the persecution and other things; this story was for the brighter side of things, to help her friend. Strangely enough he seemed to be listening, so she continued while he ever so slowly relaxed.  
"These figures were considered to be the most beautiful things in creation, perfect beings of honor, loyalty, and most of all, love and hope. They symbolized all that people wanted, all they needed in their darkest times, and they prayed to these beings to protect them... we called them angels, and I do not know a human who has not at some point looked at depictions of these beings and felt envy. They were warriors, but gentle when needed, intelligent, amazing... they were glorious, and we have all wished we were, or at some point that we knew or had seen one.  
"The other day, when I came into the training field, I thought I saw one."  
He was breathing easier, pulse still fluttering against her fingers, but he was calming, and his wings had settled slightly, limp against his back.  
"I couldn't go see them then, because of something happening, and once it was over they were gone. The very next day, I came upon the same figure quite accidentally, and realized, to my own shock, that I knew this person already. I knew where our legends of angels had come from, or at least where I thought they had come from."  
He finally sat up a little, enough that he could peer out at her through his hair, pulling his wings tightly around him like a shield. She met his gaze and gave him a warm smile, cheeks darkening slightly.  
"It wasn't just appearance, it was because I -knew- him. I knew he was good, with a light in him that shone brightly to all those around him. I knew he was honorable, sweet, and cared about the things around him. And then when I saw him on the fields, I realized he was a great warrior too, a damn good one, and I was amazed. When I saw him, I was so awestruck I didn't know what to say at first. Still, he let me stare at him, not knowing why even though it bothered him I think, and then let me touch his wings because I was curious."  
Belanus had gone still, eyes too wide in a face much more pale than it should be.  
"You see, Angels are beings of freedom, creatures of air. They are golden or fiery, white and silver, at least how we've always seen them, and they had wings. I thought you were an angel Belanus... this is why I stared at you with such awe. Your wings, your magic, they're a part of you, and they are amazing, surely one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen... You are not an abomination, you are not foul or worthless because you are a little different than the Seelie, despite what some of them may think. They're just assholes if they tell you that.."  
He snorted and looked down at her words, and she reached out to touch his hand lightly.   
"I speak the truth Belanus. I didn't make up the story, nor do I lie to simply make you feel better. I.. just came out here to apologize, to make sure my friend was okay.. and truthfully, to ask you to think about being the guardian."  
He whipped his gaze back to hers, and she sighed.  
"I won't force you, I only ask that you think about it. If you don't want to, then I'll tell the gods myself that they will just have to find someone else to do it. I'll not force you, I refuse to."  
His mouth was opening and closing, but nothing was coming out, as if he were too shell shocked to formulate anything. She gave him a small smile as she slowly stood, brushing off her knees as she turned away.   
"So I just ask that you think about it.... either way, you don't have to tell me today, you do have a little bit. But I had -best- see you at that festival! I will come drag you out there."  
She paused at the edge of the treeline, watching him scramble to his feet and shaking a finger at him warningly. He stiffened, wings snapping tightly against his back, and nodded frantically. Instantly she softened, tilting her head to look at him a moment.  
"I have to get back. But I want you to think of something for me, okay?"  
"Y-yes my lady...?"  
"Why, if you are supposed to be such an abomination, would the -gods themselves- choose you to be their Guardian of Light?"  
The thunderstruck Sidhe simply stared at her, and she nodded once.  
"I hope I'll see you tomorrow Belanus."  
As she walked back through the woods, the heavy guilt in her chest was joined by the warm murmur of voices that tried to soothe her.   
"Guess you guys aren't mad about what I told him then, cause it was the truth."  
There was a heavy sigh, followed by what she interpreted as confidence that she could talk him into it.  
"I hope so... I think it would help him heal a little, but I wont force him... I hope this works out.."

 

Supper had, thankfully, gone well without anything out of sorts happening. It had went by rather fast in fact, and as Aurora toweled off, fresh out of a calming shower, she was a bit sidetracked.  
"Ow- shit!"  
Snarling a curse, she rubbed her hip where she smacked into the edge of the sinks; which she had done because she hadn't been paying attention.  
"My flower, are you alright?"  
She squeaked and jumped nearly three foot at Tristan's voice just outside her door, slapping her hand over her racing heart for a moment before she could answer.  
"Y-yeah! M'fine, just ah... bumped the cabinet thing... I'll be out in a minute."  
"Okay.."  
He sounded less than convinced, but she heard his footsteps move away and relaxed. Really, she had to stop fretting over everything. In fact, maybe she was kind of doing it on purpose if she were honest with herself, because she was a little nervous.  
"Its fine..its just Tristan... its different... stop being such a baby."  
During supper she had noticed that he was acting oddly; tired almost, or maybe weary. Like he was strung out and stressed. She knew he had every reason to be, and had told herself that she would try to help when they went to bed that night. He often said he slept better with her there beside him, which was sweet, but when her mind had wandered she had realized something. Thinking of how she had comforted Belanus, using soft strands of his music, the same way she had Wraith by singing it, and even Aedh, had made her realize she had never done that to him. It made her worry that he was getting the way Aedh had been, touch starved and feeling lonely, because he would never tell her such a thing for fear of putting her on the spot. She knew he respected her own space enough, although he didn't understand most of the different views she had from back home; but the point was he tried.  
So tonight, once she talked to him, she was going to try as well.  
It took her only a moment to tug on the sleeveless nightgown, this one pure black, shake out her hair, and brush her teeth. Then she trotted into their room, expecting him to be waiting with all the lights out, save one dimmed for her to see. But he was not.   
He sat on the edge of her side of the bed, elbows on his knees, head bowed and resting in his palms. He was ready for bed, in dark blue loose fitting pants like he always slept in, although the light beside the bed was totally on. It made her pause for a moment, having to will the worry away with a fortifying breath, before she padded over and reached for him.  
"Tristan whats bothering you?"  
Even though her voice had been pitched soft, his head snapped up and he jerked to his feet, flushing guiltily.  
"N-nothing flower, forgive me, I had been turning down your light and paused but for a moment and -"  
"Tristan."  
At her soft admonishment he stopped, then heaved a sigh so deep she wondered that his ribs did not collapse under the weight. Those ocean blue eyes slid away, and he tangled his hands in his hair.  
"I am sorry.. I do not wish to place my burdens upon you. I simply worry over everything that has, and is about, to transpire. Even among that, I worry the most over my father. When you went to Marcellus the other day, just after his fight with mother, you remember I went to tell him of our plans since news of Merlin's crystal had begun to spread? I did, and he took it very calmly, very well. He seemed happy even, content with the way things were progressing. I find that... alarming."  
"What? Why?"  
"It is not his way flower... I simply fear he has.. some hidden thing I know nothing of and am unprepared for, and that it will spell disaster for us all."  
"Surely not Tristan, you're father isn't a bad man. Maybe he is actually just happy.... after all, this works in his benefit as well, doesn't it?"  
"Well yes..."  
"How about I go talk to him sometime tomorrow... maybe I can get a hint of something. Would that help?"  
He seemed surprised, blinking at her owlishly a moment as he slowly lowered his hands.  
"I....well.... yes, actually.... it would."  
"Then I will. Now get in the bed."  
His lips twitched as she smiled, and he nodded before turning and slowly rounding the bed. With a shake of her head, she slid under the covers and got settled on her back, watching him do the same. Just as she began to wonder how to broach the subject, he sat up and turned with a huff of mild frustration.  
"And I forgot to turn off the lamp. Excuse me a moment flower.."  
She glanced at him in surprise, eyes popping wide when her world was suddenly filled with nothing but moonlit skin, silken trails of blue hair, and a wide expanse of chest and throat. Pressing back against the bed, she looked up as he leaned up on his knees and propped one hand beside her head on the pillow, stretching to tap the globe that the light sat in. As soon as he did the light died away, and darkness enveloped them. Her eyes weren't adjusted yet, though with the window in the next room she knew the moon would shed some light momentarily, but she didn't have a moment. Before she lost her nerve she reached out, fingertips meeting warm skin as the bed creaked with his shifting weight getting ready to lay back down. At her touch he went perfectly still, and she lightly slid her palms around until she could grab his hips.  
"A-Aurora?"  
Something about his tone, the sudden panic, made her start to smile, and just like that her butterflies melted away. Who was she kidding? It was -Tristan-.  
"Lay down Tristan.."  
"I - I was trying to but you - ah, have a hold on me, my-my dearest flower..."  
He sounded so close to fainting, muscles quivering under his skin, that she couldn't quite help the soft laugh that escaped.  
"Duh. I meant right here, lay down with me..."  
His breath barely made a sound, though the bed creaked a protest as he eased his weight from one leg to the other.  
"I... I am trying...?"  
"Come on now, I won't bite you."  
He hesitated just another moment, and just when she thought he might refuse, he moved. It was a tentative movement, like he feared falling off a cliff, as he eased his weight down as slowly as he could. She debated pushing his knee out from under him with her foot, but figured he might scream and bolt. So instead she simply shifted around, giving him room to settle on his stomach, laying his torso across her gently as he could. She moved and wiggled until she could slide her arms around his shoulders, letting him pillow his head on her stomach, since he'd shuffled down that far. Moments later he wrapped his arms around her waist, cuddling slightly closer and tangling their legs together under the blanket, and she threaded a hand through his hair. They lay in silence a moment, and then his breath fanned over her gown, sinking into her skin as he murmured a question. He was still tense as a wire.  
"What.. brought this on my flower...?"  
"We've both been stressed, and I think this'll help the both of us.. but if you don't-"  
"Ah- I .... I did not say that.."  
He hid his face, but she felt the edge of his smile, chuckling softly at his reaction. Before she could regain her previous nerves, she pressed her fingertips against his bare shoulder and the back of his neck, then called the magic of water. It responded instantly in a gentle rush, rolling forth in a languid wave from her touch. His hands convulsed, and he went rigid in surprise, before melting with a deep rumble of sound that was nearly pain. Figuring that meant she was doing it right, she stroked her hands in gentle circles over his shoulders and neck, tugging them through his hair as well when he sighed and practically purred.  
"That will... certainly help..."  
She giggled before she could help it, and he nipped at her in response, but made no move to get away. It did seem like the tension was slowly leaving his muscles which had been tight with stress, and she began to relax as well. They had both needed this, she thought, and continued her ministrations with a smile until they both dozed off. 

 

After the attempt on Tristan's life with the blades hidden in his throne, the guys had taken turns pulling shifts to make sure he was watched at all times. Of course, then she hadn't known that had been weird, nor had she noticed it too much anyway since she'd still been sleeping in her own bed. After her fight with Rosalyn they had stopped watching him through the night, and she had noticed. The explanation had been simple enough and she had went on with a shrug; but then after the King's poisoning they had begun to watch again, for fear the attempts would target Tristan again as well. This had affected her sleeping habits, because their appearances to regularly check on the prince, at least when they shared a bed, woke her. She had a thing about people walking or moving around while she slept. Wraith had turned it into a bit of a game by trying to sneak inside using the shadows to check on them without waking her. It had only worked when he'd never stepped out of the swirling shadows, and even then she still stirred at the new music filtering through the room. She easily went back to sleep though, and it hadn't bothered her yet.   
Now she stirred, aware that a couple of hours had passed since she'd fallen asleep. Tristan lay sleeping, blissfully unaware as always, still halfway over her though he had shifted to be curled beside her with an arm slung over her middle and his face buried against her side. He wasn't moving though, so what had woken her?  
Probably Wraith, she thought, yawning and shifting slightly, stretching her arms up over her head to push them under her pillow. She slumped then, breath evening back out, unconcerned and not even opening her eyes. Four heartbeats passed, the air above her shifted, and she reacted before she thought. Her arm shot out, grabbed a fistful of material and jerked forward to bring them off balance as her other hand came up, Odin's dagger flickering with a wicked gleam in the moonlight. She stopped when it hit resistance, eyes open and lip curled on a snarl that died as she focused, halfway sitting up now, nearly nose to nose. Belle's metallic eyes were flickering in the dim light, blown wide with terror, both hands up to show they were empty, and she held perfectly still.   
"What the hell are you doin Belle?!"  
The maid flinched at her furious whisper, and she eased the dagger back, letting go of the woman's tunic with a muttered apology. She actually heard her swallow, and Aurora pushed the blade back under her pillow with a frown aimed at the maid who had begun to wring her hands together, eyes pinched in worry and bright even in the dark.  
"I... I am sorry mistress, but I ... there is someone looking for you and I did not know what to do!"  
She had to strain to hear the other woman, looking at her oddly when she translated her words.  
"Me?! Now?"  
"Yes, he is an UnSeelie.. he was sneaking about the sithen, very nervous, and gave quite the fright when I ran into him... he says that he is looking for you, and that no other can know he is here. He says it is very important! I did not know what I should do!"  
She looked at Belle for several seconds, and finally sighed. Damnit.  
"Where?"

 

Belle had gotten into their room by telling Stratos that she'd needed to bring some of Aurora's clean dresses back to her, and so he had let her in. When she slipped back out, Aurora waved her fingers at him over Tristan's head, and he gave her a grin before closing the door behind the maid. She gave it about three minutes, then eased carefully out of bed, and into her room. Finding her robe was simple, and she patted Chopper on the head as he thumped his tail at her, shushing him as she opened the window and he gave her a questioning huff.  
"Be back in a few! Go back to sleep."  
He lay back down as she sat on the window sill and swung her legs over, sniffing at her for leaving him behind. When she landed on the ground, barefoot and hair a tousled mess, she first began tugging her clothes to right them. The nightgown was fine, but she'd wanted the robe as well, tying the scarlet belt to hold it closed. It was black to match the gown, but had the red sash, and the same colored lace edging the hems and the sleeves that ended at her elbows.   
She was still trying to smooth down her hair as she rounded the corner, stopping as she came nearly face to face with Belle who jumped a foot.  
"What's wrong with you?"  
"I ... I do not want either of us to get in trouble!"  
"Pfft! M'not worried about that. Now come on though, before I -am- missed."  
Belle nodded and grabbed her wrist, looking around carefully before she was off like a shot. They skittered halfway across the Sithen it seemed, down the servants hallways and through back rooms she'd never seen before.   
When they finally stopped, Belle dipped her head towards a doorway she did recognize, sort of. All the doors to those 'extra' rooms, which ended up being dining, music, or just entertaining rooms, were the same, and this looked like the rest.   
"He's waiting in there?"  
"Yes mistress, what do you want me to do?"  
"Stand right here and wait. If I don't come back and tell you something in... five minutes, go get the others. Okay?"  
"Y-yes mistress..."  
Belle looked as if she were ready to faint, but Aurora knew she was stronger than that, and turned away. Before she crossed from the servants hall into the main one she listened carefully for the music of anyone else nearby, and hurried across when she found it clear. She paused only a moment to take a deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside, letting it click shut softly behind her. Instantly her eyes found the figure standing by one of the open arches leading outside, and he turned to see her. She froze as his music filtered over to her on a soft breath of wind, shock causing her to go perfectly still as he relaxed somewhat upon seeing her, and her incredulous whisper barely made it to him.  
"Aedh?"


	24. The Egg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be re edited asap, to fix the little squiggles where italics and such go, but my tablet isn't cooperating well right now.  
> Anyway, here's a new chapter! Yeeha,!!
> 
> Also, FYI, I'll be taking down other chapters sporadically for editing purposes, so don't freak out. :)

"Aedh??"  
Aurora's jaw fell as she stared, wondering what in the seventeen hells was going on. She'd been asleep, minding her own business, when Belle had woken her up with an urgent, and secret, frantic request; there had been a frightened UnSeelie sneaking through the Sithen looking for her. Belle had not known him, and as he came forward, it registered why.  
"What the hell is wrong with your face?"  
He stopped, then broke into a sheepish grin, giving a sudden shake from head to toe like her dog Chopper tended to when fresh out of a bath. Instead of flinging water though, little embers seemed to spark and fall away from him, taking away the illusion of the black haired Sidhe with green eyes and catlike features. He reached up to run a hand through his true hair, glimmering like fire in the moonlight, metallic eyes flashing, and was back to his usual sultry features that so mirrored those of his brothers.  
"Glamour.. to stay unnoticed."  
"Right.... totally gotta learn that trick. Wait, no, never mind that! Why are you here?!"  
He paused in front of her, slapping his hands on his hips with a dark scowl, frustration written across his features out of nowhere.  
"Because this damnable Sithen has entirely changed since last I was here and I became hopelessly lost trying to find you! It is most absurd how difficult to navigate it is now, and I am sure I could thank the convoluted mind of my little sister for such chaos. Not that the sithen would respond to her, but since she has the King wrapped around her dainty little finger she surely had but to mention some change for it to become reality. I-"  
"You're saying its a giant cluster fuck, right?"  
"... I am unsure what that means exactly but if your tone and the context is correct then yes I believe so."  
"..... Aedh what the hell are you doing in the Sithen at all?!"  
"Oh! I had something quite important to tell you!"  
She crossed her arms and cocked her hip, raising both eyebrows curiously. Surely this would be good, she thought, since he'd come out of hundreds of years of hiding to sneak up here and tell her. But at her movement he paused, his gaze flicking down to follow her movement, and she remembered her current state of attire, or personal lack thereof, with a flush that spread like wildfire from her toes to her ears.  
"Aedh! Focus! What was it!?"  
He whipped his gaze back up to her narrowed glare, and actually looked a bit chagrined, lifting one shoulder in a light shrug.  
"Forgive me... I but came to tell you that... I wish to help."  
"Say what?"  
"With the ritual."  
"Wha- really?!”  
"Well yes I - where are you going?"  
"Shit! Hang on - Belle! Hey wait - no no, come back! I forgot to come back, no its fine..."  
Aurora slumped against the doorframe, keeping it just barely open so that the maid couldn't see inside. Gods help them all if anyone but the guys found out that Aedh was here. Belle stopped sputtering and panicking, and Aurora silently thanked said gods for reminding her to catch the maid before her five minutes were up and she ran off to bring back the calvary.   
"Actually... c'mere Belle. Would you do me a favor?"  
The nervous maid practically teleported across the hallway between one blink and the next, looking suddenly excited as if now that it was all okay, she was totally in. Aurora snorted and had to force herself not to laugh.  
"Go to Boreas's rooms, you know where they are, right?"  
Belle blushed a little but nodded, shifting eagerly from foot to foot, and Aurora's lips began twitching again. She didn't want to know, really she didn't.  
"Neit will be guarding the door, but talk to him, then tell him to send Boreas in here. But only them, nobody else, okay? Tell them its me and I said to bring his ass on and stop whining if he wants to pout about being woke up."  
Belle looked gleefully delighted in the most evil way at the prospect, grinning widely as she nodded.  
"Yes mistress! Right away!"  
When the maid disappeared in a flurry, she clicked the door shut and turned again, only to be swept into a bone crushing hug that lifted her off the ground. Damn the Sidhe were touchy beings.  
"Ah- grief Aedh, I g-gotta breathe!"  
"Oh, forgive me.. I am just glad that I managed to find you without incident."  
"Aww, I missed you too Aedh."  
She patted his arm as she grinned impishly up at him, huffing a laugh as his cheeks colored slightly.  
"So explain to me what made you decide to get on board."  
"I...?"  
"To go along with the whole plan! Sorry. Sheesh."  
"Oh, I understand. Well, I have had plenty of time to think about your words, and everything that goes on.. and the more I thought about it.. well.."  
He looked down at his hands, bringing them up to flex them with a faraway stare that was so wistful it hurt to see.  
"I miss the others... my brother, my friends... I miss my craft and the magics within the courts... I long to stand in the sun again with its heat upon my skin, to finally feel warm again after all these years underground, hiding, waiting, cowering.. I can do it no longer. My hands itch with the want to fight, my heart burns with the need to help, with the desire to end my brothers terrible plans once and for all. And this may be the only chance. And I have found.."  
When he brought his gaze up it was like a punch to the gut to see those eyes that had been so haunted now burning, steady and strong. He took her hands, clasping them between both of his, making her heart swoop before beginning to pound, and her smile stretched so wide in response it hurt, hopefully covering the sheen of tears blurring her vision.  
"That I believe in you, and your nigh impossible hope for victory. So no matter the outcome, I will be there."  
"Oh Aedh... thank you so much!!”  
This time she threw her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could with a relieved laugh. He just chuckled, dropping his arms around her and patting her back until she was through.  
They turned at a hesitant knock on the door, and she went still at a sudden idea. Aedh's eyes narrowed as she spun back to him with a mischievous grin.  
"What goes on in that little mind of yours?"  
"Revenge! Hurry, hide over there!"

"Well come on in already.."  
Her voice barely reached the door, but only moments later it was cracking open. Neit's head poked around, the beads clinking in his hair as he came to a halt and blinked at her. She grinned and held her finger up to her lips, winking at him, and she knew his lips twitched just barely. Quickly she moved back to her original position as he stepped out of sight, telling the UnSeelie King in a quiet murmur that it was indeed her and that he would guard the door.   
When Boreas stumbled inside, she had to bite her lip and look down to keep from ruining it, inadvertently adding to the coy look she was going for. His robes were askew, hair tousled from sleep, blinking slowly as if through a fog when he turned to halfheartedly glare at the door when Neit pulled it gently shut behind him. She bet the captain had nearly drug him down here and had flat out shoved him in the room.   
Without looking directly at him, she knew the instant he turned and caught sight of her, because he went perfectly still like a deer caught in the headlights.  
It made her raise her gaze, slowly, one side of her mouth tilting up because she couldn't quite hide the smile as she met his stunned look through half lidded eyes, returning his stare through her lashes. She'd hopped up onto one of the tables, unbelted her robe so that it framed her, and fluffed her hair just slightly. It fell over one shoulder and slightly across her face as she tilted her head just so, leaning forward with her palms flat on the table between her open knees with her gown pinned securely in place. She wasn't showing anything, but she was damn sure hinting at it.  
"Well...?"  
She practically purred, internally dying because the King of the UnSeelie Sidhe, the high rogue himself, was struck speechless, staring at her with his jaw hanging open, hands up as if unsure whether he was trying to defend himself or pull his own hair. He twitched at her voice and shook his head, finally lowering his hands.  
"Wh-what are you doing?"  
"Waiting on you obviously. C'mere.."  
He took an involuntary step forward before he stopped, straightening his shoulders and narrowing his eyes suspiciously.  
"Why?"  
"Isn't it obvious? I need to tell you something..."  
"C-can't you tell me from here?"  
He looked torn, yet wary, as if sure it was a trap but more than wanting to risk it. She let her lower lip pout just a little, dropping her shoulders as if put out.  
"But its a secret... can't you just c'mere a minute? Please?"  
"I... "  
"Don't you trust me?"  
The movement at the corner of her eye was making her want to loose it, but Boreas jerked as if she'd slapped him. His shoulders slumped, and he hung his head, reaching up to scuff a hand over his face and take in a deep breath as if fortifying himself. She just barely caught his murmur, and the movement became a bit sharper.  
"It is not you I do not trust."  
He started over, and she had to hold in the shout of triumph. She did find herself watching him and his walk, that strut that was just his, until he stopped in front of her, about a foot away. Snap out of it, she told herself, waiting patiently for the perfect moment.  
"Alright, I am 'here'. What is-"  
He cut off with half a gasp as she whipped her hands out to grab the sides of his vest and yank. He stumbled forward at the sudden movement, hands slapping the table on either side of her to catch himself as his hips crashed into the wood. Instantly he froze, eyes wide and breath held because she'd tilted her head back, looking up and stopping their faces inches apart. His hair slid over his shoulders, and she flattened her hands against his chest, sliding them up with the barest press of her nails.   
"Sorry I woke you... but it was important... I had to tell you something..."  
She barely breathed the words into his skin at his pulse point, feeling the shiver that coursed through him in response. When she reached his ear, he had yet to move, but his hands twitched, digging grooves into the wood with a splintering pop. She paused long enough to know he'd hear her, and prepared herself to run for her life.  
"Your little brother is here... I thought you'd want to see him."  
A shudder ran from the tips of his ears to his feet, and he straightened up slowly, hanging his head so that his hair hid his expression. She went perfectly still, muscles tensing for flight, and he reached up to push both hands through his hair, shoving it back. His face was perfectly calm, and his eyes closed.  
"Little fire... give me just a moment to skin a wild cat."  
His voice had fooled her, and his words registered just as his eyes snapped open, blazing sparks. She let out a terrified squeal and shoved herself backwards to hit the couch pushed up against the table, scrambling to get over it and away amidst peals of laughter. His growl was purely evil as he caught her ankle, and she yelped as he started pulling her back towards him.  
"Ah ah ah my sweet little kitten... you may have earned two points on me for that one, but I will get you back for that -"  
"NooOOOOOooOOOooOOOOooooo! H-help-"  
He jerked her back and cut her off, though she caught a flash of one of those protective bubbles in a red glimmer around most of the room sealing the three of them in, and she realized that had been the pop she'd heard right after Boreas had told Aedh to hang on. It must have been him, the traitor!  
At least they wouldn't wake up the entire Sithen.  
"Come here for just a moment my sweet, precious, kitten!"  
"Aw shit! Aedh help meeeee - n-no you asshole - a-ahahaa- s-stop!"  
While she flailed he easily dropped her back on the table on her stomach, and jerked her free arm over her back, leaning against her other side to pin her down. Then he slid his free hand up her side and dug his fingers in, making her shriek with helpless laughter.  
"T-tickling isn't f-fair B-Boreas! Ha - s-stop!"  
"Hmm? What was that? Little brother did you hear something? I do not think I did."  
"Aaaaaaaaaaeddhhh! B-Boreas s-stop I c-can't breathe!"  
Aedh was bent double, leaning against the couch a few feet away, shaking from silent laughter.  
"Surely you jest, if you have the ability to give me commands then you must be able to breathe perfectly well."  
"N-nooo ssstop ahhh - p-please!"  
"Mmmmm, that does sound more like it... but not quite."  
"Wh-what do you w-want me to say!?"  
"What was that game you beat Stratos at? 'Uncle', I believe you called it.. that would work."  
"N-neeeeverrrrr!"  
He simply shrugged and continued on, making her squirm and flail desperately to get away, lungs aching and tears streaming as she laughed.  
"I told you how to end your suffering."  
"A-ahaa- f-fine - fine! Uncle! Uncle damnit!"  
Instantly he stopped, and she heaved in a free breath as he freed her arm, still leaned against the table so she didn't slide off in a boneless heap. She was still giggling when Boreas poked her once and made her yelp in surprise.  
"I had nearly forgotten about this game of ours, you would have gotten away with a graceful loss, dignity intact, but now you have started a war."  
"Bite my shiny metal ass!"  
At that, before they could get going again, a sound caught their attention. They both turned in surprise to see Aedh had collapsed on the couch and was holding his stomach, tears streaming as he bellowed with laughter. It was contagious, the rich sound echoing up and back, filling their little bubble with light like the sun. What a wonderful sound, she thought.  
Then she noticed that Boreas had frozen, and looked up, her warm smile faltering to see him staring at his brother in amazement, eyes looking a little watery.  
"Boreas...?"  
Her voice was soft, but he looked down at her, and the look in his eyes was enough to make her heart ache.  
"I have not heard him laugh like that in more than a hundred years..."  
She looked back over, and sniffled, but refused to cry as they both smiled at the one they had managed to find in the depths of the darkness, and right then and there she made a promise.  
"I'll make sure it happens again, that he comes back to us and stands freely in the light once more... I promise."  
She hadn't meant to say it out loud as she pushed herself up, perching on the edge of the table, but found an arm winding around her shoulders. When she turned her head in surprise, Boreas hid his face against her hair for a moment, but she heard his voice clear enough, with only the slightest warble in it.  
"Thank you...."

After that she stayed only long enough to be sure that both brothers were alright together, and that Aedh had in fact told her everything he had wanted to. He had in fact, although he repeated it again for his brothers benefit, and she quickly returned to Tristan's rooms and crawled into bed with a smile on her face.  
They officially had their Fire Lord, and that meant they were one step closer to fixing everything.

\------

"She is where?"  
Tristan glanced up from his cup to see his uncle staring at him as though he had one of the many creatures of the forest sticking out of his ears. He surreptitiously reached up to check, well aware of his consorts penchant for gaining a following of them, which caused them to pop up in a hundred places. Just the other morning when he had opened his drawers to retrieve a tunic for the day one had jumped out of the pile of cloth and scared at least twenty years from his life span. He was only lucky the others had not witnessed such a childish display of startlement.  
/Thwack!/  
"Oww! Uncle - ?! What the seventeen - what was that for?!"  
Boreas stared across at him placidly, metallic eyes shining in amusement, and Tristan huffed at him, rubbing his sore forehead where he'd just been quite rudely plucked by his completely unrepentant uncle.  
"Look at you, one mention of her and you wander off into another world."  
"But I - that time I was not thinking of her - .....specifically... what is your point?!"  
"You nearly even used one of those phrases she uses quite regularly, what is it? 'Seventeen hells'?"  
Tristan could feel his cheeks growing hot, and he covered it by rubbing at his forehead as though it still hurt and looking back down.  
"State your point."  
His uncle's warm chuckle made him sigh and drop his hand, looking up at the older sidhe as he settled back into his chair.  
"I asked, although I am truly unsure why I am even surprised, where you said she went off to in such a hurry this morning after breaking her fast with us?"  
"Ah. She said she was returning to the smithy, because he was showing her how to make something... I do not know what, for she refuses to tell me... she says that I will see when she is finished, and that it is a surprise. She even threatened me if I were to get one of the guards to investigate for me!"  
Tristan flung himself back in his own chair, crossing his arms with a petulant scoff that made his uncle snicker.   
"Well.. that does sound like her... but I wonder then, if she is not making a gift for you?"  
His gaze snapped back to his uncle, seeing how his demeanor had changed slightly, into one of mischief with a sly smile. Tristan could only scowl at him as his cheeks heated again at the thought.  
"Bite your tongue! Why would she?"  
"Do not be a fool."  
The prince flinched at his uncles words, and looked away.  
"She cares for you, and well you are aware of it."  
"That does not mean anything, nor does it mean that even if she was, a gift would mean the same thing to her as it would to me. I am unsure if she is even aware of what giving a gift between two that are... consorts, means."  
"Actually, I believe it means the same thing in her world. It is a token of affection."  
"Yes but one can have affections for ones own siblings, and show it the same way."  
"Ah, now you are drawing very thin lines where there should be none, nephew of mine."  
Tristan snorted, easing back again and crossing his arms once more in the comfortable silence thereafter. His mind wandered over a thousand things, and though he would not admit it to his uncle, surely half of them were to do with the frustrating, yet somehow alluring, human labeled as his consort. The one currently working on some confounded surprise that could in truth be anything coming from her. Perhaps he was even a little worried.  
Boreas cleared his throat, drawing Tristan's gaze back, and he went still. His uncle was looking down at the table, with a sudden air about him of something serious, lips pressed together as he searched for whatever he wished to say. His own stomach knotted as he waited, curious at the sudden change, almost jumping as the king's soft voice fell into the quiet.  
"Does she still speak of returning to her home?"  
His stomach rolled, and he looked away, schooling his own features into the familiar court mask of indifference lest his uncle see far more than he wished. Surely this reaction was only due to the fact that he had begun to like her, and he did not want her to leave for the sake of his people. She was the only one, currently, who could take the place in the ritual they so desperately needed.  
"No... she stopped speaking aloud of it the moment she realized that it upset.. the others, when she did. Still, she does speak occasionally of her home... she tells me stories of these great places of beauty and wonderful things, such as grand sprawling cities filled with thousands of lights, great things that defy logic made centuries ago such as giant pyramids, and many other things.. she speaks of her home, 'out in the country', she calls it... of the people, the 'woods', the animals, the quiet out there... It no longer has to be said.. but she still plans to return."  
"Why do you think this, has she said so? Do you not think she will change her mind? She seems happy here.."  
Tristan slowly shook his head, pushing to his feet and turning away from his uncle as he stood as well.  
"She is... but she will not. I see her, when something reminds her of home, or of those still there. She does not have to say it aloud in those moments.. it is written plainly on her features. Once this is over, and she has helped us all.. and she learns how to return home.. she will. Come uncle, we have much to finish today, the festival is tomorrow."  
Tristan turned on his heel and strode out of the room then, leaving his uncle behind in the ringing silence, staring after him with a look of resigned sadness that he did not want to see.   
Not now, not while she was still here. When he grieved, he would do it afterwards, alone. Until then, he would live in the moment as best he could.

\-----

 

"Ha, I finally got it!"  
Aurora held up the torc, letting the silver glint in the firelight as she twisted it to show Govannon. The smithy leaned back from his bench to squint at it for a moment, before giving her a gruff nod.  
"Aye lass, good job."  
"Ha! That curve was just really bothering me..."  
She missed the snort of laughter as she put the torc back down, magic spiraling at her fingertips while she weaved the metals like the smithy had shown her. The look of the metal being woven together had caught her eye, and she liked the look of it. After him showing her how, she had begun working on the torc to decorate it by looping a small weave of dark blue metal around the bottom of the main silver band.  
She was really starting to like the way it looked, but she still didn't have what she wanted for the front!  
With a sigh she continued on attaching the blue wires to the torc, then sat it down in her lap to stare at it with a frown of infinite consternation. Something itched at her mind, tugging at her attention, and out of frustration she ripped off the blue metal and slammed it down on the table.  
"I hate it! That looked like shit."  
Govannon never twitched, having already seen this in action at least seven times in the previous couple of hours, and simply continued with what he was working on until she decided on a new course of action to try.  
She propped her forehead in her palms, groaning at herself and digging the heels of her hands against her eyes until she could see the sparks.  
"M'bein stupid... agh I can't ... decide what I want to do."  
"It will come lass, dinna worry so."  
"But it has to be done TODAAAAY!"  
The smithy sent her a chiding look as he turned, waiting until she was dine with the plaintive whine to point at her with a copper pin.  
"If ye force it, ye will hate it and ne'er get it the way tis s'pose to be. Stretch yer legs and put it down for a few, then return. It will help."  
She wanted to whine again and throw something, but the smithys eyes flashed once, and she bolted out of the chair to practically run around the table.  
"Okay, okay! I'm walkin already... geeeeeeez..."  
He snorted and returned to his tinkering, the metallic clinks and clicks as he worked fading into background noise. She paused in her mad flight to stare down into one if the giant barrels of gems, flitting her fingertips across the tops of the blue ones. They were beautiful, really, she could find one in any shade she could imagine here, and Govannon could show her how to shape it into whatever she wished, but they just weren't what she wanted. It was entirely too frustrating, but she wanted this stupid gift that had been her own stupid idea to be perfect, and now she was doubting herself and thinking it was just stupid. Because it was. Stupid.  
She thumped her nails against a few of the stones, then froze at the different sounds, blinking in wonder as a sudden idea formed. Could that have been it all along? Was it just that none of them -sounded- right?! She had been -looking-, when she needed to be listening! Duh! She popped her forehead with her hand and laughed, catching Govannon's attention as she whirled to face him with a new excitement.  
"I've got it! I know how to find the one I want! I've been - like, I've been looking, instead of -listening-!"  
He cocked his head to the side, curiosity plain in his features, and she waved her hands as if that would help her explain.  
"Its the music! I can hear the music, I thought I mentioned this? No I guess not... sorry. See, I -hear- the magic, like music! And I bet that's why I couldn't find what I wanted, because I wasn't -listening-!"  
"Ye can... hear the magic lass?"  
"Well yeah! Iridius said it was kind of unusual, but its okay. I've just been so focused I haven't been hearing anything, I can fix this let me turn my ears on - its a saying don't look so horrified!"  
"But.. ye can -hear- the music...?"  
"Yeeeeees!"  
She closed her eyes then, taking a deep breath for what would surely be an overload when she flipped the switch on again since she was surrounded by so many things.  
"But that is how the great-"  
Music blared through her head in a sudden burst that was louder than she'd anticipated and she staggered a little, reaching up to touch her temple.  
"-practised his magic."  
"S-sorry, that was a major change, wow. I didn't hear you, what did you say?"  
Govannon stood, and just as he did one pitch rose above the rest, one voice that let out a piercing wail, grinding across her ears like nails on a chalkboard. She hissed and clapped her hands over her ears to protect them, even though the sound was in her head, and it trailed off into a vaguely familiar yapping of sound. The sudden relief had her realizing Govannon was right in front of her, holding her arms and calling out to her worriedly.  
"Oi, lass answer me! What-"  
"I-I'm okay! I'm okay... I just.. ouch. Something was.. just, bellowing, so loud... like.."  
It started up again, and this time she tried to focus on the direction of it. Emotions poured off of it, fear, surprise, anger, and cold. Wait, cold? One message was behind it, though she couldn't quite understand the problem: Help.  
"Calm down, I can't understand you!"  
Govannon fell silent in surprise at her snapped response, as did whatever was causing the racket. She was suddenly aware of its entire focus swinging around to her, and again she felt the odd familiarity. For just an instant there was a connection as she felt it, and the animal, surely it was more of a magical one like the phoenixes for its thoughts to be so clear, latched onto her. Her music poured forward in a barrage of images that made Aurora gasp. It was deep oceans, underwater caverns filled with light reflecting on scales of a thousand different colors, iridescent bubbles and bright coral surrounding coves of glittering treasures. She blinked and the image was gone, though the questioning burble came through more clearly now.  
/Danger! Home? ....home?/  
"Its a baby..."  
"Lass, what is going on?! If ye canna tell me I am goin ta get the storm lord and-"  
"No no, its okay... there's a baby, like, a little animal, I'm not sure what she is exactly, but she needs help.. "  
"The scholar said ye can year the wee beasties, but understanding them?"  
"Yeah, I can talk to the phoenixes too.. and dragons.. but listen! We have to go help her!"  
"Do ye know what is wrong?"  
"I think... she's lost? She's looking for home, and she's cold.. but there's nothing about where she is, only confusion.. like she cant see? I'm not sure... please help me find her Govannon! She's scared!"  
Aurora grabbed the front of his apron and looked up at him pleadingly with her best puppy eyes. He hesitated only a moment before he reached up to tug at his ponytail in frustration, gold eyes narrowing on her.  
"Under one condition."  
"Name it!"  
"Ye follow me lass. If I say something be too dangerous, let me handle it. I will no' be responsible for ye bein harmed."  
"...okay!"  
She began tugging him forward excitedly, and he heaved a sigh that sounded eerily reminiscent of the bellows he worked with regularly as he followed along.  
"Why do I not believe ye lass? I have a bad feeling abou' this."  
"What's the worst that could happen?"  
"ACH, yer prince has told me how trouble seems to land in yer lap as if ye sought it like the hounds in the hunt!"

 

\-----

 

Tristan flopped back into his chair with a relieved sound that made him nearly deflate, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back. There was just so much last minute approvals and decisions that he had to go over with all the Sidhe about the festival. Of course, each of them thought their problem was all consuming and the most important, though he could personally not care less about which of them decorated with what colors in relation to each other. He loved the festival, as did they all, but since his father had cheerfully handed him the reigns a week past, he had realized just how much of a headache this little festival was to plan. Quite literally, his head was throbbing, and he had told Stratos to give him five minutes of peace before the next Sidhe came in to sort out a problem.  
A thought flitted across his mind, making him smile for just a moment. He wondered what Aurora was doing, and bet that were she here, she could remove his tension without trying by simply laughing. She seemed to be the one thing that could dissolve such things for him, reaching through to him when most things would not. He wondered about that, and seriously debated sending Stratos after her to see if she would mind coming to sit with him for a short time.  
His brief minute of peace was interrupted by the door opening, making him slam his feet upon the ground as he straightened like a whip, instantly replacing his court mask.  
"I- ...... father?"  
"My son! I have a question for you!"  
Tristan slumped back in moderate relief at the sight of his father bustling inside, two thick scrolls held against his wide chest. His robes seemed brighter today, shimmering with the gold and red highlights while he walked forward with a wide smile.  
"Of course father, what can I help with?"  
The king pulled a chair over and plopped down, spreading out the scrolls across the low table while he began talking. Tristan leaned forward curiously, watching as his father smoothed the paper carefully.  
"As we spoke before, I am still planning the opening ceremony for the festival.. and though I have thought for several days... I am .. frustrated."  
Tristan knew his face mirrored his surprise, especially when Aurii sent him a glance and chuckled.  
"I do not understand father... what are you frustrated about? Has something gone amiss?"  
"No my son... I had plans to make this years festival far more grand than ever before. I wanted to start it with something... unusual... unprecedented perhaps.. some grand surprise.."  
"I see no problem with that.."  
"That is not the problem... the problem is that my creativity is apparently sorely lacking. I am unable to come up with anything that would be different than before! I was hoping perhaps you could help me.."  
When Aurii turned to face him, Tristan was still gaping in stunned surprise. -His father- asking -him- for help? Surely he was jesting.  
"Me?! Father I ... I have so very much with everything else... I do not think my answers to such a thing would be of much help..."  
The king nodded in resignation, turning to look at the papers again. Across the scrolls were the design for the metal framework that held the sacred flames to be lit upon the beginning of the festival after the King's speech, which was outlined in flowing runes above the design. All around it were doodles and scribbles for other ideas, some of which were very strange.  
"You... thought of making the festivals flame sit upon a giant shell?"  
Aurii went a little red, instantly scrambling to roll up the papers as he sputtered and looked everywhere but at the grinning prince.  
"It was... just an idea! I told you that I wanted something different... I had hoped to find a fresh perspective.. perhaps I could ask your uncle-"  
"Gods no father!"  
The king turned in surprise at Tristan's outburst, who was laughing and shaking his head wildly.  
"Are you mad? He will have concubines running around as the servants, and the display would be something... well, quite ridiculous I am sure."  
Aurii joined in his son's laughter, wagging a finger at him fondly.  
"Just wait until I tell him you said that.."  
"I do not care! Tis true.."  
Tristan sat back in his chair as his laughter faded, reaching up to scuff his hand over his jaw thoughtfully.  
"Hmm.. in that case I shall leave you to your duties, I am sure you are quite busy.. perhaps I will have an idea.."  
As the king turned away, Tristan heaved a sigh, wishing he could offer more help, mind spinning over possible answers.  
"Wait! Father, I do have an idea after all.."  
Instantly Aurii twisted around, expression hopeful, though it dimmed slightly at his son's wicked smile.  
"Dare I ask?"  
"Yes... in fact, you should ask Aurora."   
There was a moment of silence as the King stared at his son, then a matching grin that was just as mischievous spread across his face.  
"My son, I knew coming to you was a good idea! I shall speak with her at lunch! How ... marvellous."  
Tristan shook his head with a huff of laughter at his father as the man swept out of the room muttering to himself with a smile. His father had no idea what he would get himself into trying to tap into the creative mind of that woman.  
It made Tristan laugh out loud just thinking about it, and he was smiling brightly as the next Sidhe was allowed into the room to confer with him.

\-----

"Ah.. lass, are ye sure that yer wee beastie is suppose to be around here?"  
Aurora bit her lip and turned, eyes scanning the landscape around them, for a moment ignoring the soft question from her friend. The tall smithy waited patiently, but she had no answer yet. Not a helpful one anyway.   
It was a little tough to pinpoint the direction the music was coming from, and looking around them, it could be anywhere.   
The trees here grew tall in the forest, with grey bark and dark blue leaves, all tall and quiet with wide branches. Even the leaves didn't begin to grow until well out of arms reach, so she could see a good way in all directions, or so it seemed, like the forest never really ended. Personally she had been lost for a while but trusted Govannon to get them back eventually, she had been following the strand of music with a focused concentration, and hadn't paid a single bit of attention to their surroundings. Now they stood at one edge of this forest, which she hadn't seen coming really.  
It was as if some great hand had simply drawn a line in the soil, and here the trees ended, fading out into softly rolling hills covered in tall strands of grass that seemed almost black, swaying gently in the breeze. Throughout these grasslands were gently rolling hills with only a few trees dotting the landscape in between. In fact, unless the baby was literally hiding in the grass, she could only see one place it may possibly be, and she just really didn't want to try to go there.   
Really she didn't.  
Just a few yards away, one of the hills that looked like every other one had a spill of large rocks across one side, as if the soil had washed away. They looked like little pale islands in the middle of the grasslands, but this one sloped just a bit more, and she was relatively certain that shadow in the middle of the rocks was a small cave.  
"Uhm... maybe over there...?"  
As she pointed, she felt Govannon shift beside her to look, and then heave a sigh.  
"O'course. Let us go see then."  
Fortunately, or perhaps more unfortunately truth be told, she could hear the music gaining volume the closer they came to the small opening, as well as the faintest whisper of some other familiar music that had her on edge. Govannon stepped up first to peer into the opening, flicking his fingers to create a tiny light that he dropped into the hole to see. She passed her hands back and forth through the tall grass, wondering at the softness of it, almost jumping at the smithys voice breaking the silence.  
"I dinna see anythin lass, but.. I also dinna hear the same music that ye can. There does not seem to be anythin dangerous here about... so ye can look if ye wish.."  
She nodded, trepidation settling under her ribs as she moved forward. The rocks were piled well over their heads, making it a little difficult to climb over them to reach the cave opening that sat underneath one such overhang. One she didn't quite trust, but she had to see. There was one larger boulder blocking most of the opening, though it looked as if it should move, and as she leaned against it to peer through the opening that was barely big enough for her head it sent a shiver of awareness slithering up her spine.   
Damn, sometimes she hated being right!  
The music echoed from inside, and she could hear the baby scratching, the soft whine from it making her swallow past her own doubt. She instantly reached for it, soothing it as best she could as she turned back to Govannon and discreetly slid her hand into her pocket.  
"This is where it is. I can hear her."  
The taller sidhe turned slightly, arms crossed as he looked out across the plains, his golden gaze worried.   
"Well I can try to move them aside but-"  
"No! That's okay I think I can.. I think I can ah.. 'talk' them into it. Maybe move them with a little of my magic without shifting the rest.. what if it caves in the others? I just, ya know, wanna be careful..."  
He glanced back at the rocks, looking torn, and finally heaved another sigh, giving her a reluctant nod. She sent him a bright smile, which made him look away with a sniff at her antics, and she used the opportunity to quickly lay her palm against the big stone, the coin securely held there. The shift was almost instant, and she wanted to jump away, but refused to move, instead acting as if she were pushing the boulder back by her touch alone. Which she was, sort of. She still almost leapt a foot away as a cool wind blew up from the hole, bringing with it the scent of water from deep underground. As soon as the boulder had moved just enough that she could squeeze herself through she pulled back, dropping the coin in her pocket before she turned. Govannon twisted to see, and frowned hard at her.  
"There is no way I can fit through there!"  
She chewed her lip and shifted back and forth on her feet, pretending not to see the way his face darkened into a scowl.  
"Oi, no lass ye canna bail off into that cave all by your-"  
"M'not leaving her down -there-!"  
He hesitated at her words that were almost a snarl, and she stomped her foot.  
"I won't! She's... sick or something, maybe she fell in and hurt herself! I wont go far, I promise. You can stand out here and keep a lookout. If something bad comes, you can warn me, or.. if, and I mean IF something happens, you can go tell the others where I am and come get me out."  
"Aurora-"  
His tone was a warning growl as he straightened, and she shifted closer to the entrance.  
"You can wait here to help me, or I'll sneak back later alone and find her myself!"  
It made him pause, and she lifted her chin, well aware that her very posture screamed stubborn, bull headed, determination. For a full three minutes they stared at each other, and she refused to back down. Finally he cracked, shoulders slumping as he snarled and pinched the bridge of his nose.  
"Fine! Yer prince was right about ye lass. Go on then, but if I call out, ye had best listen to me and answer! If I have to go back for help dragging you out..."  
His eyes were snapping sparks, and she smiled brightly in response, ignoring the threat.  
"Okay!"  
Instantly he went suspicious, but before he could throw anything else at her she whirled around and slipped through the opening, landing carefully on the far side. Soft soil was under her feet, spread between the rocks that littered the path, and the sunlight ended not too far from her. She swallowed at the impending darkness, jumping with a yelp of fear as a ball of light buzzed by her head. Whipping around at a low laugh, she saw Govannon lean against the boulder, one hand up where he'd made the little light for her. She carefully took it, hearing the soft hum from it as she cradled it with her palm and looked forward again. Maybe she was too worried to throw it at his head for purposely startling her right now.  
"Thank you Govannon... I'll not go far, okay?"  
"Aye las... just be careful."  
"I will.."  
With a deep breath she tried to shake off the feeling of worry in her stomach, and started forward, listening intently to the music from the animal that had focused on her as soon as she stepped past the entryway. It was louder now, clearer, and she was almost getting pictures from it; a flash of scales lit by the tiniest flame, but surrounded by nothing but dark. Even with the little light, all it could see was the reflective surface next to it, which seemed oddly distorted.   
"Its okay, I'll find you baby.."  
She shivered in the cool air, and noticed then that as she walked the baby seemed more sluggish, the soft mewls the only thing she could hear from her now, no longer the scratching and scuffling. Alarm had her steps quickening as she tried to figure out what was wrong.  
"Are you sleepy? Don't fall asleep on me yet-"  
/Cooold../   
Her feet stumbled as the word came through, clear as crystal, and she knew for a fact the baby had to be one of the magical creatures. They were the only ones who could speak like that and respond to her so well.  
"Shit! Its okay, just hang on alright, I'm -"  
Her hurried steps faltered, words cutting off in a gasp as her foot found nothing but air. Then she was flailing, trying to throw herself backwards, but only succeeding in sitting down hard on rough ground as she started sliding. She scrabbled for purchase, panic closing her throat as she halfway bounced down a steep incline. It seemed like she was sliding forever, the darkness swallowing her up as she fell farther, hands clutching desperately at anything she could touch to try and stop.  
Finally she slammed into a flat surface, her momentum carrying her forward, and her feet fell off into air this time. Her hands brushed something and she latched on, coming to a jaw snapping halt that brought a cry from her throat as her shoulders burned, protesting the sudden pull. But she was still, and after she panted for a terrified breath she heaved, pulling in her legs and scrabbling to get as far up on the small platform as she could.  
"D-damnit!"  
/Chiiiirrup?/   
She jerked, flinching when the little ball of light finally caught back up with her and illuminate where she was. It made her want to close her eyes and sit very still and scream at the top of her lungs, but she couldn't do that.  
There was only a small ledge where she was halfway resting, just a few foot wide, and far as she could see in front of her was nothing but shadow. Above her, the incline was filled with roots, rocks, dips, and dirt, dust still settling from her mad fall through it, but it was higher up than she was tall. Not far from where she had fallen she could see the vague outline of something like a rock bridge across the gap and she wanted to throw something at it in frustration. Instead she pressed her back flat against the wall behind her and took slow, steadying breaths to calm down. This was not a good place for a panic attack.  
"Really? Three damned foot from where I could have just walked-"  
/Chirp?/  
The sound made her go silent, and she realized it was right beside her almost, and still ridiculously familiar, but no longer just in her head. She'd actually heard that. Keeping one hand fisted around the root she twisted, very slowly and carefully turning to see behind her. There on the slab beside her, wedged between a rock and the sloped wall she had fallen down, was an egg. A brightly colored egg that shimmered in the light, rocking slightly as whatever was inside seemed to run all around it several times in sudden excitement at hearing her. There were cracks spread throughout the length of the cerulean shell, and as she tentatively reached for it she realized it was not terribly big, perhaps a foot tall and not quite that around at the largest point.  
Her palm landed on the egg, and the animal inside paused, then slid against the shell where she touched in a strangely snake like movement, giving a sound like a happy purr.   
That was when it clicked.  
"Holy shit you're a baby dragon."

\----

Govannon stepped back underneath the overhang upon hearing the wind picking up, feeling something whisper across his senses as he looked up. There was the faintest sound from above, a rhythmic thumping that echoed down around him, and for a moment he pressed back against the stone, thinking of trying to hide. Then realization struck him and he moved forward, raising his face to the sky and searching until a dark speck appeared over the horizon. It was moving ridiculously fast, and as he took another step forward to be noticed, he saw that there was something following on the ground, a white and blue blur streaking along through the grass.  
His relief upon recognizing the dragon was ridiculous, but this cave gave him an uneasy feeling.  
He propped one hand on his hip and raised the other, waving his arm back and forth as a greeting as the elder dragon flew closer, and was surprised to see the dragon bank up, circling once before coming to land not too far away. Those great wings beat slowly, still flattening the grass around the dragon in a circle from the force of it as he landed. Claws kneaded the ground as relaxed, raising his head and folding his wings against his back as he headed forward.  
Amazement still curled through Govannon every time he saw the old dragon, power spilling across his skin as the ancient being moved closer. The silver dotted along the dragons dark scales were like sparks of lightening, his tail slowly lashing back and forth as he halted, and Govannon was surprised to see the way the dragons eyes were filled with anger and worry.  
"Hail Elder Aranduil..."  
The smithy bowed slightly out of respect, watching smoke plume from the dragons mouth as he answered, jaws clacking together in an obvious sign of his mood.  
"Hhhaaaail Goooovannon.. whhhaaaat brrrrrings you out to theeessseeee laaaandssss?"  
"Well.. ah... I was accompanying my companion.. she seemed to be of the impression that there was some wee beastie out here that needed her help..."  
The dragons eyes sharpened, but he paused as the rustling sound he'd heard suddenly caught up. Grass parted like a river to reveal another dragon raising up as they stopped, lifting their head regally to look at the elder. This one was a female, as well as a different breed, more delicate as she swung her gaze from Aranduil to peer down at him distrustfully with hard blue eyes. She had a long, lean body covered in iridescent white scales, and a fall of sapphire hair that started between the two horns that grew out on top of her head, trailing all the way back to a larger tuft at the tip of her tail. Looking absolutely furious as her whiskers settled, a shiver running through her body from head to toe, she was eyeing Govannon with open suspicion. She had no wings, only four powerful legs tipped with dark claws, and was strangely serpentine as she moved, seeming to ripple even though she stood still.  
Govannon's gaze was jerked back as the elder's voice rumbled through the air.  
"Wwwwhhhy wwwooould your companion ssssaay thissss?"  
Sheepish now, and not entirely certain he could explain it well, he rubbed the back of his neck and twisted to glance at the cave entrance hopefully.  
"Well... ye see, she says that she heard it... so we followed it here and .. she went in there after it."  
Aranduil's eyes went back to the cave, narrowing slightly as he shuffled his wings.  
'And ssshhhe hhheeeard thhiiissss cry for help from the Sssssithen?"  
"Well yes... I know it seems -"  
Govannon cut off his words as the female dragon curled her lip, hissing out an angry breath, and he sincerely hoped she was not about to attack him. Fighting with a dragon was not his idea of a good day.  
"Whhhoooo isssss thhhiiisss companion of yourrrsss, Govannon?"  
"Ah... Aurora...? I believe she knows you Elder."  
The dragon's face fell into surprise.  
"Yesss.. ssshhe does. Hhhoow did... neverr mind thhhaaat. Do you know whhhaaat it was she sssensssed?"  
"Nay, I fear not... she thought it was a female though, if that helps any?"  
Aranduil swung around to face the other dragon who seemed hesitant, eyes glittering as she stared hard at Govannon, then gave a barely perceptible nod. The elder turned back and heaved a sigh.  
"Thheeerrre isss an egg thiiieeef on the loosssse. We hhhaaaave been tracking down hhheeer egg, and were nearrr hheeere when we lost the trrraail. I wwwoonder if perhapsssss Aurora hhheeaard the infant?"  
"She did say it was but a babe.. she went inside after it but only a few minutes ago."  
"Can you sssspeak with hhheeer?"  
Both of them turned to see the female dragon who was staring at the cave with a look that was a strange combination of worry and resignation, though the smithy jumped at her voice.  
"I.. told her to listen for me. Why?"  
His stomach was already knotting when she looked over at Aranduil.  
"Thhhaaat cave sssmells like the othheers. The one I sssent my other daaauughter into after the thiiieeeves trail. She ssstill roams those caaaves, and if she runsss acrosss your -friend-..."  
She curled her lip on the word, obviously not caring too much about the outcome but pointing out the warning just for the sake of it. Govannon whirled and rushed to the entrance, wide shoulders scraping against the rock when he hit. He was already bellowing her name as he stopped, a near panic bursting under his ribs. Damn her she had best be listening, had best be nearby.  
"AUROOOORAAAA!!"

\---

/'Chirrrup?'/  
"That's right... okay well it explains a few things. Uhm.. lets..."  
She looked up then, narrowing her eyes on the slope behind her up to the ground, and heaved a sigh.   
"Govannooooon!! ......Can you hear me??"  
She paused, waiting on some answer, some squeak of sound, but nothing came. Beside her the baby gave a curious burble, again with that high pitched warble that was so birdlike in nature, and she wondered how she'd missed the similarities between it and her first meeting with Mythrandiel. Oh well, now wasn't the time.  
"Right... so we might be on our own for a bit... guess I walked farther than I thought..."  
The baby scratched around inside the egg again, surely ready to get out, but Aurora shushed her and began to very slowly shift around. Bits of rock chipped off to scatter off into the darkness below, making her stomach roll and shivers wrack her spine, but she continued to move until she rested on her bent knees, looking up the way she'd fallen. With shaking hands she reached out and splayed her palms against the rock, smoothing them back and forth searchingly.   
"Yeah... I think.. I think I can climb this... carefully. Damnit... now how can I get -you- up there with me?"  
She twisted to look at the egg, and finally reached out, rocking it until she could get it free. With a grating sound it finally slid loose and she had a moment of near panic as she overbalanced, lurching forward and jerking the egg tightly to her chest, ending up with her forehead slammed into the rock. She hissed out in pain as lights exploded behind her eyes, and for a moment she had to sit still, giving a pained groan as the baby scrabbled around in response.  
"S-son of a - nnngh, holy crackers, m'fine just - hang on a sec... lemme sit still for a second.."  
At her voice the baby settled, giving a soft mewl of sound, and Aurora patted the egg gently.  
"S'okay, just... yeah. Alright.. now ah.. let's see.."  
Leaning back a little she kept one arm wrapped around the egg, reaching up to rub at the sore spot between her eyes with a grimace. Finally able to focus, without any blood that she could feel thankfully, she looked up again, trying to come up with something. How in the seventeen hells was she going to get the egg up with her?  
Then the whispers suddenly came across, soft and easy as they spoke up with a helpful suggestion, but she just huffed at them.  
"What? I cant 'wait here'! I don't know when Govannon will decide I've been in here too long, and - "  
Something underneath her cracked, and she whipped down to look, seeing dust plume up in the flickering light of the orb hovering by her head. Terror clawed up her throat as she learned toward the rock wall again.  
"No no no! Come on! Okay, fuck, we gotta go!"  
Bringing her gaze back to the egg, she wanted to try and break out the baby, see if it could hold on while she climbed, but she was afraid it would hurt it. How the hell would she know?  
Then the voices came across, urgent this time, pushing at her, and she swallowed convulsively.  
"Shit! Shit shit shit! What can I - wait... h-hey! Wake up!"  
Still shaking she reached up and grabbed the pendant around her throat, praying this would work.  
"Come on! I saw you change before! Do it again! I need like, a sling or something!"  
The crystal gave a soft chime, and she clicked open the pendant, letting it roll out into her palm. She could still hear the same sound, like the rocks shifting under her, and felt as if her bones would shake apart with fear.  
Damnit, she wasn't dying here, and neither was the baby!   
The weight was heavy in her hand, familiar as it settled into the center of her palm and stilled. Closing her eyes, focusing her ears, she could hear its music, a soft hum that she knew she could influence. Unsure how she knew, or even how to do so, she squeezed her eyes shut and spoke to it. It had always helped before.  
"I need a sling, to tie around me and hold the egg, I need this, please, come on.."  
It rocked slightly, and she snapped open her eyes, losing her concentration. She snarled a curse and focused again, twisting her magic out to twirl around the crystal, and felt the rock shift underneath her.  
"Make a sling!!"  
Snapping out the command without thought should have made her gasp, but she snarled it, anger igniting, and instantly the crystal began to flatten, spinning out like it was being woven by an invisible hand. She tightened her grip on it as it rose up, and then shot out over her left shoulder. It slithered across her back and came up under her opposite arm, leaving the ends trailing over her hands in a pearlescent, white strand of fabric like silk. Before she could sit and stare in awe she was shifting the egg, rolling it in the fabric as she turned it and pulled. She made a heavy knot on top of her shoulder, tested where the egg sat by tugging at it a little, and wanted to pump her fist in triumph. It had worked!!   
"Awesome! Now we just have to get up-"  
"AUROOOORAAAA!!"  
Govannon's bellow echoed through the cave, not as loud as it should have been she thought, snapping her head up to look toward the sound. The ball beside her head brightened considerably, and she opened her mouth to reply, already smiling. But then she cut off, flinching when a spray of pebbles pelted across her head and dust shook from the ceiling from the force of his call.   
That was when she heard the crack, felt the ground underneath her falling away, and she flung herself forward out of instinct, grappling at the rock wall for purchase as her feet fell into thin air. The scream was lodged in her throat as she started to fall, pushing with her feet and doing everything she could to find something, -anything-, to grab. The baby let out a panicked bleat of sound, scratching inside the shell as she scrabbled, still sliding, dust scattering across her face as fire erupted along her hands. She could feel the skin scraping off in rough patches, but she couldn't stop, desperate as she moved farther down, and something dry and leathery skidded across her touch. Instantly she latched on, felt the length of it as she wrapped her arm around it and slammed her foot against the wall. When she stopped it felt like her arm tried to wrench out of socket, and she couldn't quite stop the pained yell that erupted. Still she moved, teeth gritted as blood began to drip down her arm, and found a hold for her other hand, digging in and settling her feet.   
Finally still, the baby froze too, and for a moment all she could hear was the pounding of her heart, tasting the copper twang on her tongue where she must've bitten her lip, the protesting, burning ache in her muscles, and the steady drip of hot blood down her right arm. She forced air in and out through her teeth, holding still only long enough for her heart to slightly calm, and then she let go with one hand. It took her a moment, unclenching the locked muscles, but finally she did, sliding her hand until she found another hold. Slowly she followed suit with both feet and then her other hand until she'd pulled herself up a little, pushing and cursing.  
"M'not... falllin... down there... we're.. getting... out!"  
The ledge was surely fifteen feet away, at least, but determination was like a fire burning in her stomach, stiffening her back, pushing her forward as she reached for another handhold.   
She wasn't going to lay down and die. Too many people counted on her. Too much was at stake for her to give up so easily, over such a -small, pathetic- setback!  
"My....my.... my, look what I found."  
The voice was almost a purr, crooning from the darkness out of nowhere to surprise her. How had she missed his arrival?  
Still, she whipped up to see, eyes going wide as she caught sight of the figure standing on the rock bridge. Arms crossed, eyebrow raised, looking as unruffled and calm as ever as his hair danced around him, still rippling like water. Always, she thought, watching his lips twitch into a smirk.  
"L-Lyr! I knew it was your doorway!"  
"Well you would not have gotten through otherwise."  
"Well .. I ... j-just - damnit nevermind that! W-will you help me out here?!"  
What the hell was he doing? She was -hanging against the wall over a damned ravine-!  
His chuckle raised the hairs on her arms as she looked up into the light from the ball floating at his shoulder, and he lifted one hand to wave it airily as if they talked about inconsequential things.  
"Come now, what would be the fun in that? You are doing so well on your own... After all, you got down there did you not? Why -are-you down -there- of all places anyway?"  
Her hands twitched with her sudden fury, indignant and white hot as it filled her up, making the rocks under one hand give. She hissed as she slid an inch down, quickly slamming her hand against the rock once more to stop. Fresh blood welled past her cracked fingertips, but her temper didn't allow her to focus on it. Instead of paying attention to her blood against the almost black rock, she shot him a scathing glare.  
"Damnit Llyr I-"  
"What do you have there?"  
Unable to help it, she looked down at the egg, trying to nonchalantly shift and slightly block his view, instead inching up another hold and deciding she might just try to halfway ignore him.  
"Its an egg. If you're not going to help go away."  
But he stayed, tsking at her with obvious amusement, shifting his weight to cock one hip and watch. If she had fur, it would certainly be bristling right now.   
"An egg? In -my- tunnels? What sort of egg? And why did you bring it here?"  
She continued up a couple more handholds, only pausing finally to catch her breath with her aching muscles, sending him a suspicious look. But, despite her current ire with him, his curiosity seemed genuine. Strangely child-like even, she thought as she sniffed at him and began moving again.  
"A... dragon egg. And... I didn't bring it.. I heard her... cry for help... and came."  
Llyr made a sound of shock, dropping his hands on his hips to tilt his head and peer at her with wide eyes.  
"You did? Well... you continue to astound me with your powers. Especially for one so young... But that is another matter, the real question is, what are you intending to do with it?"  
Like thinned out, she pushed on, halfway wondering why the babe had gone utterly silent, laying quietly inside the shell. It was worrying.  
Though his question sparked several of her own. She hadn't really thought that far ahead yet, and she decided to tell the truth of it.  
"I hadn't.. thought that... far ahead yet... just kind of... trying to... climb out of ...this DAMNED RAVINE!!"  
He was silent a moment, and after she caught her breath, making herself calm before she used up more energy just yelling, she continued. Belatedly she noticed that she was getting closer, nearly halfway to the edge.   
"But I'll.. find a way.. to take her back."  
"To her family?"  
This time she just nodded, gripping harder, and wondered if the bleeding was slowing or if she was just getting enough dirt in the wounds to staunch it. Lovely thought that.  
He made a sound to himself, as if he were contemplating her words. She was contemplating how she was going to shove something up his -  
She went rigid, freezing in shock as the cave around them reverberated with a roar that sounded absolutely furious, and somehow triumphant at the same time. When it faded away, urgency was starting under her ribs, and without even pausing to think she began to try to go faster. Llyr's heavy sigh brought her glancing at him repeatedly as she pulled, shifted, stretched, and continued to climb.  
"I suppose she followed me after all... but it explains a few things. I believe, since this one is still quite young as well, that the hatchling barreling down my poor tunnels is searching for her sibling... given that this is not dragon territory, they are surely together, and that egg you hold must have been stolen away... Seeing that I do not get along with dragons particularly well, I believe I will take my leave."  
"Hey you could help me out first!"  
"No time, but do send me some sort of word of your safe arrival back at the Sithen, hmm? I have the utmost confidence in you."  
Before she could form the blistering reply on her lips he grinned, dipped his head, eyes twinkling mischievously, and the light beside him winked out. Just like that, she knew he was gone, and her already raging temper hit the boiling point. Suddenly with rage and adrenaline making her hands much more steady she was climbing faster, rocks pelting her legs where she ripped away hunks of stone with her grip as she continued up. Under her breath she was keeping up a steady stream of curses her grandfather would be proud of, all revolving around the metallic eyed Sidhe.  
"Oh when I... get out of.. here.. I'm gonna get his ass.. just wait..."  
She was much closer now, not much more than arms length from reaching the ledge, and even through the fury she wanted to shout in triumph.   
"We're almost there baby!"  
The dragon chirped at her, and then began to race around her shell chittering excitedly. Suddenly uncertain she paused to look down, and the emotions coming across warned her seconds before the noise. Surprisingly it was quiet, barely the too fast skittering of nails and a shower of pebbles, then the deep heaving of breath was all that announced its presence. Aurora looked up then, feeling the air from it even here, and swung her gaze to the rock bridge. Where Llyr had stood moments ago was another shape in the darkness, a serpentine dragon of white scales, powerful legs, dark hair, and liquid eyes that glowed in the semi dark. She could just see as its nostrils flared, sending a ripple over it as that gaze landed on the egg still cradled to her chest. It moved suddenly, only a blur as it scrabbled over in that oddly boneless way to stop right above her, talons cracking the ground as it leaned over, teeth bared in a snarl.  
"Yyyooouuu hhhaaave the egg!!"  
Still fuming, she opened her mouth to reply when the dragon whirled and snaked its tail over the ledge, down to her. She was momentarily suspicious, but then it wound around her arm and heaved her up in a surprisingly strong grip. It made her yelp out a curse in shock, then pain, because the already wounded shoulder seemed to try to snap completely out of socket at the rough handling. Instead of dropping her, the dragon held her up to meet her gaze, head turned and gaze narrowed as her feet barely brushed the floor. Its words were nearly unintelligible over the growling, and despite the obvious signs of this dragon being a creature of water, fog spilled out of its mouth with its words.  
"Giiiive hhheeer back to me!!"  
Oh that was it.   
Before her common sense could kick in, before she could hear the voice of warning inside her head, she reacted.  
She rared up and slammed her foot on top of the dragons nose, glad its size was far smaller than the others she knew. Since its body was about as thick as her own, although longer and much stronger, it did make her think the dragon was younger as well. Its head was the size of a car motor, though it seemed to weigh less as it hit the ground beneath her shoe. The tail loosened as it hissed and dug in its claws, getting ready to attack her as she dropped to the ground. It wasn't graceful, when she hit and backpedaled, flailing her less wounded arm as she wound the other around the egg still hanging in the sling crossways on her chest. She staggered and hit the wall with a grunt, grimacing as the dragon reared up with an angry roar that blew over her, sending her dress to fluttering as she held her free hand in front of her face protectively. Lowering it to look as the dragon snarled at her, her own lip curled back in response.  
"Yooouu will give me my ssssiissster or I will-"  
"I'm not giving you her to you! I don't know you!"  
Its face creased in surprise, rearing back for a moment before it narrowed its gaze and rushed forward. Claws embedded in the rock wall she leaned against with a crack like thunder as its front feet bracketed her shoulders. She could count the sharpened teeth snapping just shy of her face, but she continued to stare as it twisted to eye her with a gaze flickering in fury, whiskers rippling as it bristled.   
Later she would be proud that she hadn't flinched, but she was so mad it didn't matter right now.  
"If you do not hhaand over my sssiister you pathetic Ssssidhe, I sssswear I will rrrip your sssspine from your body!!"  
"You can try it!"  
Shock again had the dragon's jaw dropping, and Aurora snapped at her.  
"M'not trying to take her away IF she IS your sister! But I want some one else to tell me for sure, because you just showed up and act like this, and expect me to hand he over to you after I pulled her out of that ravine? Hell no! I can call Sareindiel if I need to, or even Aranduil the elder, but m'not handing her over to a strange dragon when I don't know how she got here in the first place! You could be lying and the be very one who took her!"  
After holding her stare a moment longer in silence the dragon dropped down to stand regally, observing her as if making a decision.   
"The elder annnnddd mmmyyy mother sssearch with me. If yooouuu are truthful in your deccciisionsss, then we ssshall go find them for your prrroof. But iifff you do anything susssspiciousss at all..."  
She tapered off into a growl, and Aurora huffed, straightening up and spinning on her heel.   
"S'fine, whatever. But we're going to get my friend at the entrance first, he's probably freaking out already. We'll find the other dragons from there cause I know Aranduil won't fit in here."  
Yeah, so she was limping, covered in dirt, scratches, bruises, and blood, both fresh and drying, but she would be damned if she'd come all this way to just hand the egg over without knowing for sure. As the dragon fell into step beside her with an exasperated rumble and puff of steam she ignored it, as well as the aches and pains throughout her body. Whenever they reached Govannon, where she could take a moment to focus with her friend at her back, she could heal herself properly. For now, she wasn't letting her guard down.  
She sincerely hoped that Govannon hadn't decided to freak out and leave already to go get the others, because that would sincerely suck. Please still be there, she thought, adjusting the strap across her chest and patting the egg with a reassuring murmur. She could tell the dragon swung its gaze around to her, but she ignored it, listening instead to the soft rumble in response from the babe who rolled against the shell.

 

When the opening of the tunnel came into view, she realized that it was somewhat around a slight bend, because they were just suddenly almost to it. The ambient light should have given it away, but she had been too focused on putting one foot in front of the other, and warily watching the dragon pacing along beside her for any funny business. Of course, she was being watched in return, which did make her feel somewhat better.  
Her thoughts were interuppted by voices, two of which she recognized instantly that made her slump in relief.  
The dragon beside her made a happy sound and bounded forward, just squeezing out of the hole that she had came in through earlier.   
Wait, hadn't it been smaller before?   
The two male, and one female, voices cut off with barks of surprise as the dragon barreled out into the center of them, voice rising above them to talk ninety to nothing. It made Aurora smile as she neared the doorway, because that alone assured her that the dragon was surely honest in her intentions.  
"Mother I hhaave found hhheer!"  
"Well whheeere is-"  
"Wwwaaas there no human female innnssside?!"  
"Did ye not see her?! Aurora must be - Oi lass!!!"  
Govannon's barrage of questions was halted by the noise of her clambering out of the entrance, still carefully holding the egg. He barreled over to her in half a panic, his face creased with worry and strain as he lifted her over the rocks and sat her gently down. Fury began to roll through those golden eyes as he looked her over, hands catching her arms and twisting her as he searched for every scratch and bruise.  
"What did I tell ye lass?! And here ye went anyway!! How did ye do this? Was it that dragon?"  
She tried to answer, getting dizzy as the larger Sidhe continued to paw at her in concern. Her eyes felt like they clacked into each other when he finally stopped her to growl out the last question, eyes sparking with a sudden anger.  
"What? Woah, I-"  
"Fffoooool!!"  
She squeaked, and they both whipped around to see the reason for the roar of fury from Aranduil. The ground beneath them shook as the young dragon hit the earth and froze, legs splayed awkwardly and chin tilted to bare her throat while she heaved for breath. Her eyes were nearly white with terror as she looked up, obviously confused at the Elder's sudden swing in mood. He stood over her, one great paw pinning her down easily, the black talons sinking into the ground around her as he leaned down. It made the young one wheeze, struggling for a heartbeat before freezing again. Beside them the mother was in a half crouch, eyes wide and worried, but she wasn't moving to do anything. Around him, Aranduil's power was causing sparks to ignite in the air as his wings spread out, lifting up high in an aggressive display.  
"Hhhoow daaaarrrrre you lay a paaaww on one who iiiissss dragon frrrriend? Yooouuu know betteeerrrr than to-"  
"No wait!!"  
Govannon hissed at her, hands clutching at her good arm to stop her, but she shrugged him off and raced forward. Three pairs of eyes, two incredulous, one surprised, landed on her as she flung herself against the elder dragon's paw where he pinned the younger one down.  
"Stop Aranduil, she didn't do it!!"  
Her feet slid across the ground as she pushed, as though she could have actually lifted the dragons foot on her own, but still she tried. Yet when he felt the pressure, he eased back slowly, following her urging until she leaned against his paw to catch her breath, satisfied he wouldn't be able to just flex and crush the young dragon. Not that he would, surely, but still.  
"Daaauuughterrrr?"  
He looked confused, and yet on the verge of righteous anger, the muscles under his dark scales trembling as he waited on her to explain. Still the younger dragon feared to move, and Aurora gulped in a breath past the pain in her shoulder and twisted to meet his mercurial gaze.  
"I fell! When I was following the cry of the baby, I kinda couldn't see too well and got faster than I should have. I ah.. fell down into this ravine thing, and found the egg there. She came by when I was climbing out, and ah -"  
She twisted to see the younger dragon moving slowly to roll onto her stomach, keeping her head lowered but obviously perked up to listen. It returned her gaze warily, obviously still scared, but Aurora sent her a smile.  
"-s-she helped me out. I was tired, and so close to falling but she lifted me out. She didn't know I wasn't the one who took the egg, she wanted it back, but I wouldn't give it to her without knowing the egg belonged with her... so here we came. Don't be upset with her, she didn't do anything..."  
Aranduil stared down at her a moment, obviously weighing her words, before he let out a long sigh that ruffled over her hair, but made her grin brightly at him. Finally that gaze went over to the younger dragon and he inclined his head.  
".....Thheeen foorrrgive my rrrrasssh rrreeaction young one, I sssshooould not have sssso quickly reacted without knowing the truth. I fear I am... over prrrotective of her...."  
"N-no hhhaaarm done, Elder.."  
He nodded as both the females relaxed somewhat, the mother moving up alongside her daughter to rub her muzzle along her flank and give a rough rumble of reassurance. Suddenly the baby gave a rather indignant chirp from inside the egg, startling Aurora. Oops!  
"Oh snap! I'm sorry baby, here, hang on.."  
With careful hands she finally loosened the material, barely containing her yelp as the crystal gave a low hum and slithered back into its normal shape. She pretended to give it no mind, despite the others watching her with open curiosity, and clicked the pendant closed with the crystal securely inside. Then she started over to the mother, stopping right in front of the regal dragon who raised her head high to peer down at her distrustfully. But she only held out the egg, making those deep blue eyes widen slightly in surprise.  
"I believe she wants her mother."  
A ripple passed over the dragon, who stole a glance at the elder as if asking permission. Then she lowered her nose to the egg and gave a rumbling purr. Warmth flared out over Aurora's hands, making both the red and blue runes on her arms flare to bright life where the dragons breath touched. She couldn't quite hold the gasp of surprise, and watched in shock as the dragon reared back slightly.  
"Whhaaat is thissss?"  
"I ah... well, uhm.."  
They both paused as the baby burbled happily, and the egg rocked in her hands. She clutched it tightly to keep from dropping it, alarmed for a moment as the babe inside reacted wildly before knocking against the top. Cracks spider webbed across the egg from that point, and before anyone could say anything, the babe had smacked it again. One big piece flew off to clink against the ground, and then a little head popped through the opening. Surely the babe was small enough to fit in her hand, Aurora thought, beaming at the little bundle that gripped the edge of the hole and wiggled all around.  
The mother's fae softened considerably, leaning back down to gently snuffle at the baby. When she did the little dragon crowed out delightedly, catching handfuls of her mothers mane, using it to clamber out of her shell and shoot up to stand tall on her forehead, braced between her horns. She was terribly cute, but colored differently than her mother and sister, with scales that were a soft violet color and hair a vibrant emerald.   
"Fiiiinally you come out of your shhheeelll Nanda, we hhaaave been waaaiiiting on you.. come Lina, and grreeeet your sisssster."  
Lina moved forward then, blue eyes alight as they focused on the small dragon, and she seemed tentative as she paused by her mothers side. At her questioning rumble the baby whirled around, making the focus of her music swing from an excited jumble to a stop that warbled off into a sudden warm recognition. She crowed out in delight, diving off her mothers horn as if it were a diving board, causing the rest of them to flinch forward instinctively as the babe tumbled through the air. But her sister was there, twisting to catch her against her head, bringing up her tail to steady her.   
Aurora felt her smile going a little teary as she gazed at the display, listening to them cooing at each other over Nanda's excited chirping. So she turned away, catching Govannon's eye, who looked much softer than he normally did. He instantly scowled a little, and she bit her lip to hide the laugh, looking away innocently as if she had seen nothing at all. Her attention was caught then by the dry rustle of scales, shuffling footsteps, and the familiar warmth along her side that preempted the presence of her friend.  
"Hhaaave you made any fuuurrther progress with yoouurr magic as of yet, daaauughterrr?"  
She twisted to see Aranduil, a little glad for the change in topic, noticing that the mother raised her head from speaking softly with her daughters to listen. It made her shift from foot to foot, reaching up to rub her arms a bit self consciously.  
"Somewhat... ah, we are.. m'tryin to get the artifacts back to their rightful owners, so that we can do the ritual of Harmony.."  
Surprise lit the dragons features, making his silver eyes flash. Suddenly the mother was at his side, eyes staring at Aurora intently, thought not as coldly suspicious as before.  
"Yoouu what? Teelllll me I did not hhhheear that correctly, for I am ssssuuure the great wizard has not rrreeturned."  
Aranduil swung his head to see her, heaving a long sigh.  
"Hheee has not... but sssshhhe carries the favor of the gods, and holdsss the keys of the ellleementsss within her grasp if sshheee can but wield them. I hhaaave faith that she can Serena, hhheeer magic is a grand thing..."  
Aurora swallowed, feeling butterflies take wing inside her chest at the praise, ducking her head as the dragons turned to regard her with intent stares.   
"Thank you.. the vote of confidence means a lot. I've found ah.. well, the guardian of shadow, and the guardian of light, but... while shadow has cheerfully taken his place, the guardian of light is a bit more... reluctant."  
Aranduil settled his wings, shifting about until he settled comfortably on the ground, and regarded her intently. At his side, Serena took her cue from him, and after turning in place once she settled down, folding her front legs together, the tip of her tail flicking casually. It left Aurora standing there stuck between their obviously waiting regard, and she sighed before folding her legs and dropping to sit in the grass comfortably.  
"Alright, I'll catch y'all up.. but you can't let anyone else know okay? Only the ones involved, as well as Sareindiel, Dainia, and Zaltheim, know... because there are those who would mess it up if they could.."  
The dragons shared a look, then Aranduil nodded.   
"Yyoiuuur words wwiiill not leave thissss circle daaauughter."  
"Thank you.. Well.. where to start right?"


	25. Chapter 25

 

Aurora stood on wobbly legs, leaning down to brush off her dress out of habit and ignoring the tingling spikes shooting from her hips down. That's what she got for sitting on the ground for, well, she wasn't sure how long, trying to explain the past couple of weeks. The movement made her wince, and she was forcibly reminded that she had gotten completely distracted. Real pain, not the prickling sensation of limbs falling asleep, was racing down her right arm, making her clench her teeth.

Really should've healed that earlier.

She had a moment now, watching as Aranduil and Serena kept their heads bent close together, deep in conversation about what she had told them. The scene was not lost on her, with such a huge difference between the two dragons, curled together as they spoke. Serena with her pure white scales, lean, flowing body, long sapphire mane, almost dainty horns, constantly rippling whiskers, and glittering blue eyes, was a wild contrast to the Elder that was yet slightly taller than her. Aranduil's scales were so dark they were almost black, but were instead the deep, dark blue of the night sky from Aurora's home, sprinkled with silver specks of light as if the constellations were mapped out across his scales. He was also heavily muscled, the horns on his head pointing straight back with smaller ones dotting his forehead, eyes a bright silver like flowing mercury, and great leathery wings that seemed to follow his every shift or change in emotion.

Beyond them were Serena's two daughters; Lina, the eldest, half the size of her mother but an exact replica of her, with only a slightly lighter shade of blue in her hair, and then the freshly hatched Nanda, who looked like the other two females, but was colored differently with soft, violet scales, and a wild, emerald mane. Still, the youngest member had her mothers cobalt blue eyes, and was trying her best to be as surefooted as her sister. Lina huffed a laugh at her sisters antics, watching as the babe simply rolled across the ground in an effort to recreate the almost boneless way her sister had just twirled around. Behind them stood Govannon, crouched down to offer help if need be, great hands hanging loosely between his knees as he outright laughed at the dragons playing. The half giant, half Sidhe was normally quite stoic, looking highly intimidating with his size and usual glower he aimed at the others of the court, but as she had begun to see since their meeting earlier in the week, he wasn't quite as rough as he pretended to be. 

Case in point, as he reached forward. Lina raised up on her hind legs to let out a tiny roar at her big sister, a little burst of steam erupting past the squeak she let out, she overbalanced. As she flailed backwards, Govannon's large hands, callused and covered in rough marks, an obvious testament to his profession of being one of the best smithy's in the land, caught her gently before she hit the ground. She flailed for only a moment before going still, eyes rolling up the large sidhe to find his gaze and blink at him, but he simply rumbled a laugh at her. Taking it as a good sign she preened, giving out a happy yap of sound, and rolled to run up his arm so she could stand with one foot braced against his shoulder and bump her head against his cheek in thanks for catching her.

All this made Aurora smile, but she was taking the opportunity to heal herself, at least somewhat, while they were all busy. She turned her attention to her shoulder first, a warm, soothing flare of music dancing at her fingertips, and couldn't help the wince. It wasn't pain exactly, but certainly a strange mixture of something that itched under her skin in response and made her want to stop. She was getting good at the healing things, really, but she didn't practice on herself much. It was too weird.

"If yoouuu would allow me, I woouuld offer to do thhaat for yoouuu, ah.."

At the voice, she looked up in obvious surprise to see the Serena had stepped close to her, obviously through with her conversation with the elder. Aranduil was over by the others, turned so that he could keep one eye on the two of them while still giving them some semblance of privacy apparently. It suddenly occurred to her that the dragon looked a little uncomfortable suddenly, as though unsure, and it clicked.

"Oh! My name is Aurora, I'm sorry!"

Serena seemed to relax as she sent her a tentative smile.

"Aahh, yesss... then, Aurora, iiff yoouuu would allow it, I woouuld heal your wounds fooorrr you."

Shock had her staring at the dragon for several heartbeats, despite the gentle look the dragon was giving her, and she sent a quick, questioning glance at Aranduil. He inclined his head ever so slightly, and she noticed Govannon watching with wide eyes as well, seeming just as stunned at the offer. So she squared her shoulders, straightening slightly to look up and meet Serena's gaze, then nodded, trying to relax somewhat. She wasn't afraid, only nervous. Damnit.

"I would really appreciate the help ma'am... m'not so great at healing myself apparently."

The dragon snorted in amusement, and she smiled sheepishly, reaching up with her good hand to rub the back of her neck. Just like that her nerves faded away, and she let out the pent up breath that had been stuck in her lungs. If she had a moment to think, perhaps she would have changed something, had some idea beforehand, maybe even steadied herself.

But there was only time for one thought as Serena leaned forward, and that was simply about having never had one of the magical creatures heal her before; only the sidhe. The whispers had time to flare across her senses for the barest heartbeat as Serena's music filled her ears with some warning to brace herself. 

Her eyes popped open uncertainly, but her gaze was caught on the sight before her. Serena took up all of her vision, muzzle scant inches from her face, those eyes settled on her but almost unfocused. The sapphire depths were shimmering, settling like the surface of a clear lake, reflecting soft light back from the crystal depths. Hot breath fanned over her, carrying with it the scent of the water, something fresh and clean, inherently relaxing as her hair ruffled within the breeze. Steam curled around her, sending waves of the strangely cool mist billowing over her skin, sinking relief into her aching muscles. Something in her shoulder popped, but she didn't twitch, too caught up in the vision before her, staring into the ageless eyes of the being before her, and the world that lay within. Wonder made her breath sigh out, and without thinking she reached out a tentative hand. Her palm landed against the dragons nose, gentle and light, awed at the softness like velvet under her palm, at how cool the skin was, smoothing her touch over the polished scales.

Something in that great gaze changed, shifting to focus on her, and she stared into the mirror like surface without hesitation. When she did, she felt as if she were pulled under, as if the world around her simply snapped her out of where she had been and into another. She was suddenly in a dark cave, surrounded by fire and lightening, bellows of rage and the screaming clash of blades. But she recognized it, watched it almost calmly as it played out. 

Again.

She hit her knees beside the pool of water that raged, filled with splashes of blood, boiling with something so hot that she knew better than to touch it. The emotions, such panic, anger, and overall a terrible fear, felt farther away, the aches and pains of a hard fought battle barely registering. This time, as a hand reached desperately from the depths, recognition and understanding dawned.

This time, as that moonlight skin, filled with the light of his power, came into her vision, reaching for her help, she leaned forward and plunged both hands into the water. The boiling, screaming pain flashed over her skin, but she grabbed the hand, reached farther to grip the muscled forearm, and heaved back as hard as she could. Instead she was pulled under, falling through the water to hit and roll on wet sand. When she came to her feet, he was on his knees, rocking, arms wrapped around himself, bloody from battle, and ocean like eyes wild.

"I-I cannot... c-control it!"

She blinked, and it was all gone, the world righting itself around her with a sound like a record player skipping across the track. As she focused on the dragon before her who hummed softly, she realized that it was over, she was healed, and offered her a shaky smile.

"Th-thank you.."

Her hand fell away, and Serena straightened, lips curving into a smile, whiskers rippling like the water she had come from. Aurora kept the flash of a vision to herself, but in her head, her voice was strong as she aimed a thought to the god and goddess.

/I knew it could be changed. It may not be exactly where I want it, but its better. And I know we'll win when it happens. No matter what I have to do./

There was a hum of agreement, of pride, in response, but she also caught the edge of worry.

As she and Serena turned to walk over to the others, she didn't mind. After all, it would be crazy not to worry, because when you stopped worrying, you stopped caring. And she certainly cared, more than was surely feasible, about the outcome of this battle that loomed before them. It made her feel better to know they cared too.

 

When Govannon was pulled into conversation with Aranduil once the elder dragon had expressed an interest to know whether the smithy had created anything new, Aurora found herself watching with a smile. Everything seemed to have calmed, and the three female dragons were interacting, obviously happy to be back together.

"Thhaaank you..."

Or so she had thought.

Aurora turned to see the older daughter, Lina, standing at her side. She was shuffling her feet, talons picking at the ground sheepishly, avoiding her gaze.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Lima raised up and let out a sigh, her voice still low enough to not bother the others, gaze going over to the elder who seemed to be paying them no mind.

"I waaanted... to thhaaank you. For... covering for me.."

Still confused, Aurora blinked at her for several seconds before it finally clicked. 

"I ... oh! No... uhm, don't worry about it. It wasn't really covering for you anyway, since, y'know, you didn't really do anything."

Lima snapped around to see her, jaw dropping slightly in surprise. It took her a moment before she looked down, huffing a small laugh.

"Thhaank you... yourrr kind are not as mmmosst of the otherrss say."

"Thanks, I think."

They shared a short laugh, and both turned as Serena called out to her daughter, the babe standing on the crest of her head and yip-yapping to mimic her mothers voice.

"Yes mother.."

When Lina turned, moving back toward the other two dragons, Aurora's eyes caught a flash of color against her flank that caused her to gasp. 

"Lina! What happened?!"

At her cry everyone turned and Lina froze, twisting to see her questioningly. Aurora was already moving forward though, hands out as she stopped beside the dragon who curled up around her.

"It isss only a scrrratch."

"Is not! Holy crap!"

By now the others had moved forward, looking for themselves as Aurora laid a gentle hand above the dragons hip, looking at the gash that was over the top of her back left leg. It looked deep, although it hadn't bled much, just enough for a crimson splash across her otherwise pristine scales, though they stuck up in bristled chunks around the wound.

"Whhaaat happened Lina?"

"Hhoow did yoouuu get such a wound yyooung one?"

The young dragon sighed as both the elder dragons questioned her, and finally admitted.

"It waaass a trrrap within the caves... nothing more. I neverrr found the egg thiieef."

The dragons hummed, Govannon watching without comment, and Aurora shook her head.

"That'll be okay, but this.. its weird. Was there more blood before?"

The you dragon gave a negative shake of her head, and she sighed.

"No, this isn't right. Will you let me heal it? I'm afraid there's magic clinging to it that shouldn't be there, it might cause some problem later.."

Lina looked at her strangely, head tilting, but finally gave a rippling shrug.

"If yoouu wisssh."

She couldn't put her finger on why exactly, but it bothered her. Maybe because of just -who's- tunnels she had triggered the booby trap in, and she knew him to be far smarter than he let on. Not to mention the fact that he had some sort of pretty sick humor to him that she knew of.

For that reason alone, she closed her eyes and focused on the music before someone else could step in with the offer, because she feared one of them finding a trace of Llyr in the magic. They would likely blame him for it and assume he was the egg thief.

Although, on that note, had he been?

But.. he had seemed genuine when asking about the egg, and truly surprised. She just didn't think he'd done it, though she had to quell the flush of anger that ignited at the thought of him.h, she'd get him later.

Quickly shaking her head she placed her hands on both sides of the gash, letting the sound of the music curl around her. It was much like Serena's and Nanda's, with the soothing murmur of water, whispers of scales and glittering treasures amidst coves deep underwater. But hers was not as ageless as her mothers, with a beat of something calmer in it, a spark that made it her own.

Then there was the thread of something oozing out of the wound, an insidious whisper that sent chills dancing up her spine. She slit open her eyes, slid them up to meet Aranduil's gaze, noting that the others were distracted looking elsewhere for just a moment, and thinned her lips. Trying to tell him in one glance that something was wrong was hard to do, but he seemed to pick up something, eyes narrowing in concern as he stepped a little closer, watching intently, and that's all she'd wanted.

She closed her eyes once more and smoothed her music out, gently into the gash, trying to get a feel. It seemed to work, sinking slowly past the scales, and then Lina stiffened. For a moment she paid it no mind, continuing to pour energy into the gash, feeling it begin to clear slightly, the muscles twitching in an attempt to reconnect. 

Her only warning was the ripple that slid from Lina's tail all the way up the body wound around her, muscles tightening, a growl rumbling threateningly when she lunged. Aurora's eyes popped open, gasping as she flinched away, hot breath gusting over her as sharpened teeth snapped dangerously close to her face. Lina's feet clawed at the ground, digging deep furrows as she began to writhe and fight, hissing and snapping, eyes unfocused and wild. All Aurora could do was stumble back in surprise, jaw dropping as she saw it was Govannon who had his arms locked around the dragons neck, feet braced as he held her back, and Aranduil stepped up, picking up one great paw to, albeit carefully, pin her down. His wings were raised as he hissed commands at the young dragon, but she gave no indication she knew he spoke, still fighting desperately to free herself and get up, attempting to attack everything in sight. Even held down she clawed and snarled, raking at air and snapping as if in a wild fury, gaze holding no recognition as Serena swooped forward to catch Nanda before she could reach her sister. The babe gave a loud cry at being caught up in her mothers paw, trying to wiggle away and reach her sister to see what the problem was, to fix it, and Serena shared an intense look with Aranduil over the racket. The elder swung back to look at Aurora, jaw tensed.

"Ffffix it, if yoouuu can daughter. Yyyoouu were rrright, there isss bad magic in this wound."

Quickly she nodded, hurrying back to kneel by the young dragon as she bucked, hands pressing around the wound which had opened under the action. It took her only a moment to focus, but then she was knocked back by something like a freight train. When she came up, holding her head and trying to let the world stop spinning, she saw Aranduil had flipped his tail to pin hers down. Must have been what hit her.

"Oi lass, are ye alright??"

"Y-yeah, s'okay!"

Govannon looked as if he didn't believe her, getting a tighter hold on the fighting dragon, but she didnt give him a chance. She leapt forward again and tried once more, this time locking onto the dragon and flinging her magic into the wound. It was as if it had hit a mirror, reflecting back with a warped echo, but she refused to be so easily beaten. Instead she pushed harder, poured more into it, determination making her grit her teeth and pant as she shook, trembling with the effort to keep her hold on the elusive magic. It seemed to flex after what felt like ages but what was surely only seconds, then gave with a crash of sound. The blaring music that had protected the wound was silent, and as soon as her healing magic hit the wound underneath, the dragon went limp. 

Very carefully the others slowly loosened their holds, warily watching for any other signs, but the healing was done quickly enough after that. Bright blood had spilled out over Lina's scales and down her leg, and as Aurora sat back, looking up, the dragon was staring at her wide eyed, terrified and confused, breathing raggedly.

"Its okay guys..let her go, she's fine now."

They shared a look but carefully did, and instantly she curved in, back around Aurora. She lay heavily against her back, trembling, and eyed the blood with too wide eyes.

"I... it waass..."

"Its alright... I've seen something like this before. It was a trap, its not your fault. Here.."

Aurora reached down and pressed her finger against the ground, pushing until she made a small hole, and called forth the magic. It was only seconds before a tiny spout of water appeared and filled in the little well, and she directed it up. Lina seemed surprised but watched as she used it to rinse the blood off her scales, smoothing a gentle hand over her flank.

"See? All better."

"Its sssseems I owe yyooouu many thhhaaanksss today..."

"No, don't worry about it, I just- oh no!"

Aurora gave a horrified gasp as her hand came away and several of the dragons scales flaked off. She caught them in her hands with a cry, looking up on the verge of tears. They were still shining, pristine and gorgeous with the sheen of blue, and the barest echoes of music behind them, sounding of the water dragon herself and somehow some of her own music as well.

"What have I done?! I'm so sorry Lina I -.....?"

The dragon was laughing, as were the others, and she sent them all wondering looks that slowly turned into suspicion until Lina nudged her shoulder with her muzzle.

"Thhaaat always haaappens whheeeen a dragon issss wounded. Thheeey will grow back in nnnoooo time."

She wilted with relief, still cradling the handful of ten or twelve scales that were slightly bigger than quarters. There was a bare gash of healing skin there, light pink in color, where they had fallen out, and she still wanted to fix it.

"But they're so pretty..."

"Thhaaank you.... if yoouuu like, yyooouuu may keep them."

She lit up and whirled to see the dragon, jaw falling open.

"R-really?! Are you sure?"

Lina looked over at her mother, just in case, and Aurora followed her gaze, almost holding her breath. Serena raised her head, expression softening as she paused just long enough to make both of them start to wilt before huffing a laugh and nodding slowly. 

"It iss ffiiinne daughter, I do nnnnoot thhiink she will abussse them."

"A-abuse them? What's... what do you mean?"

Aranduil moved a step forward then, leaning down to look closely at the scales. She instantly held them up for him to see better, watching his mercurial gaze ripple with something before he snorted a plume of smoke.

"Ever curious yyyoung one... Dragon ssscalesss often carry the magic of thheee dragonnn thheeey belonged to.. but sssincce Lina is ssssoo young, hers carry the mmmmagic of her blood, wiiiithout her personal influenccce. Although, thheeey ssssemed to have picked up much of yoouurssss..."

Aurora looked down at the scales, eyes shimmering in excitement as she paused to listen.

"So they're kinda like baby teeth... not a big deal I guess... hey wait, -my- influence?!"

Aranduil snorted in amusement at her sudden yelp, humming his agreement while she shook her head wildly.

"I - I don't ... but how?!"

"Yoouuur hheeaaling.. it impressed your maaagic upon them."

Lina leaned closed to sniffle at them, shaking her head with a snort.

"Thheey do..."

From the group of scales in her hand she could still hear that music, and over them the definite sound of something else. It was the whisper of wind through the trees, sweeping though a sea of tall grass, the scent of honeysuckles and wildflowers, of the depths of the forest after a rain, the edge of a warm glow from a hearth fire.

Was that what her own music sounded like?

For a moment she clutched the scales tightly, felt them pricking her hand as her fist shook a little, closing her eyes on a pang of homesickness so acute that it stole her breath.

-It was like home.-

She forced a breath into her lungs, shook it off, and let her shoulders drop, looking back up at the others. Aranduil was the only one still looking at her, since it seemed she had missed Govannon asking some question of the dragon about how she could 'abuse' the power. He knew he would likely be able to help her understand better, surely, and was using an example of when he'd used a dragon egg to forge something before. Normally it would have caught her interest, really, maybe she would even ask him later since even Serena seemed surprised, and offered to give him the egg Nanda had hatched from for his crafting.

Right now though, as Lina moved away from her to retrieve the egg at her mothers soft words, Aurora stood on shaky legs, rubbing a fist across her cheek. Aranduil shifted slightly, wings puffing out when he lowered his head, silvery eyes warm and full of a sadness that mirrored her own. He understood, she thought, perhaps a little at least, because he knew where she came from. Had known her in a way for a long time.

Before she embarrassed herself she scurried forward and leaned against him, letting him curve his wing around and hide her as she buried her face against his scales. They were softer here, against the broad expanse of his chest, almost hot to the touch as she listened to the sound of his great heart beating and the rush of his breath. It made her remember her grandfather, who used to settle her on his stomach and cradle her head to his chest when she was little, soothing her back to sleep if she'd woken up in the night.

Aranduil twisted until he could gently lay the side of his muzzle along her back, tucking her against him in a semblance of a hug that made her give a watery laugh. She would move in a minute, really she would, as soon as she had her emotions under control again. Until then, she could enjoy this for just a moment.

 

 

 

Govannon walked along beside Aurora, who had finally gotten over her brief spell of sadness, weaving their way back toward the Sithen. They had wished the dragons goodbye after promising to visit sometime, and waved until they were out of sight. Govannon had fell into step beside her, arms wrapped protectively around the egg as he talked, face lit up with excitement.

"I canna believe she actually gave me the egg lass! Can ye believe it? Ach, I canna wait to make something out of this beauty... she will make several fine pieces."

She couldn't help the short laugh, looking up at the smithy who flushed a little and offered her a sheepish smile.

"I'm glad you got it then. I didn't know you could craft with something like that."

"Just wait lass, it will take yer breath away... Oi! So what will ye do with yer scales? Will ye make something?"

"M-make something?"

Her fingers rubbed against the scales for a moment, lost in sudden thought, and she froze with a gasp. Govannon whirled to see her, eyes searching all around them for danger as he tensed, then sent her a strange look.

"Wha's the matter lass?"

She tugged one of the scales out of her pocket where she'd very carefully tucked them, and raised it up to stare at it intently. 

She had a flash of what the finished piece would look like, so vivid that she knew it was perfect. Her heart thumped painfully once a little too hard at the thought of what he would say. The image of him wearing it and giving her that rare, soft little smile he had was like a punch to the gut, taking her breath away for just an instant.

But it was beautiful.

And the music was... -perfect-...

"For the torc... Govannon this is what I'll use for the torc!!"

He stared at her for just a moment, uncomprehending until he jerked and started to grin broadly.

"Aye, lass that will work great!"

"Oh I'm so excited, come on let's go!!"

She tucked the scale back into her pocket, taking off with a loping stride in the direction of the Sithen, and laughing out loud when Govannon yelped out in surprise and scrambled after her.

"O-Oi lass wait on me then!!"

 

 

\---

 

Aurora raced around the entire shop once they were back, listening to Govannon's laughter in between his explanations to her rushed questions. She finally found a few metal links, polishing the scale she chose from the lot of them and washing it thoroughly before having him show her how to punch a tiny hole in both corners. Then she threaded it through, getting it just right before unlooping the one side. The silver and metal was just soft enough to be able to bend a little, allowing it to be opened and slipped around the neck and eased back, then fastening the loop back to the far side to close. The scale would settle right in the front, and if her measurements, which she had wheedled out of an extraordinarily curious Marcellus, were right, then it should lay right at the base of his throat comfortably.

When she was finished, she took a clean rag to polish the entire thing with gentle hands, eyeing it skeptically before she breathed out a soft sigh and grinned brightly. She didn't even jump when Govannon settled one big hand on her shoulder, leaning down to see as she held it up.

"Aye lass... ye done amazing. He will'na know what to say."

She stared down at the torc with a soft smile, humming in response to his words, still looking once he'd patted her shoulder and stepped back.

"Somehow, I doubt that... he always seems to know what to say. But I can certainly be surprised."

"Aurora...?"

With a startled cry she jerked to her feet, whirling guiltily to face the front of Govannon's shop. Seeing who it was she slumped in relief, then narrowed her eyes suspiciously, peering around for any sign of the others.

"Stratos!! Wait, is Tristan with you?"

He held up both hands as he walked forward, an easy smile on his face that lit up his stormy eyes when he laughed.

"Nay, tis only I princess, worry not. But I was sent to retrieve you."

She blew out a breath and turned, hurrying over to Govannon to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug. He went stiff in surprise, then curved an arm over her shoulders, halfway returning the hug with a small smile that he hid from the captain.

"Thank you so much Govannon. I guess I gotta go then.. but you'll come to the festival thingy tomorrow, won't you?"

He hesitated, and she turned her best puppy eyes up to him, watching him squirm until he blew out a long breath like the rush of his bellows and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oi, fine lass, just stop with yer evil face."

"Yay!"

She hugged him again as he groaned, feigning impatience with her, but she could see the amusement in his ruby gaze as he turned back to his forge. When she rushed over to Stratos, he sent her a curious look with a smile, and she followed him to the doorway, blinking at the sudden brightness of day. She'd been back in the shop for a little over an hour since they'd returned, and the difference was astounding.

Stratos gave her a moment, and her fingers twisted nervously around the torc she had shoved down into her pocket at the first sound of his voice.

"Hey... Stratos..?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you... keep a small secret for me? Just until the festival tomorrow night?"

He turned to look at her, eyebrows raised, and nodded.

"Of course."

"Even from Tristan?"

This time he hesitated, and she pushed forward.

"Its nothing bad, really, I wouldn't ask something like that of you."

"Well.. then I suppose I could.."

"Okay.. I just... I made this.. torc, as a gift for Tristan... wh-what do you think? Do you think he'll like it?"

She pulled it out of her pocket, cheeks flushing red as he started to smirk, and practically shoved it into his hands. He caught it easily and bent to look at it, eyes going wide.

"Is that a dragon's scale?!"

"Y-yeah.."

"How did you..?"

"She gave it to me! For helping her.."

He raised up to peer at her in surprise, hair falling across his shoulder with a whirl of wind. She began to fidget then, biting her lower lip.

"Oh come in its not that surprising! What do you think?!"

His gaze snapped back down to it then, and after a moment he straightened, giving her a knowing look that made the tips of her ears turn red.

"I think he would profoundly enjoy anything you gave him, especially something you made yourself. And this, he will certainly love. I would offer a suggestion, if I may..?"

"Like you have to ask!"

His lips twitched into another smile as she snorted, and he pushed it back toward her gently, watching as she tucked it safely into her pocket again before turning them toward the Sithen. He waited until they had walked several paces, her looking up at him questioningly, before he answered.

"Since he is the prince, and you his consort, you will arrive at the festival together. Before that, when you are both almost ready to go, you should give it to him then. I believe he would enjoy wearing his new gift to the festival."

"Y-you think so?"

"Of course."

"Huh..."

She trailed off, looking down as she thought about it, and finally started to smile as excitement made her heart skip a beat. Wrapping both arms around his arm, she leaned into her friend and squeezed tightly, only leaning back far enough to hook her chin on the edge of his shoulder and beam up at him happily.

"Thank you so much Stratos!"

He blinked at her a moment, mouth working before he looked off and sniffed, reaching up to ruffle her hair just to hear her squawk indignantly and swat at him to cover up the flush spreading up his neck.

Damnable woman.

 

\----

 

"Oh is.. Tristan in here with his dad?"

Stratos batted his eyelashes at her innocently as he swept the door open, turning to call out to the few people inside the room.

"Your majesty, I found the Prince's consort..."

She stared at him aghast as he put a palm against her lower back and pushed her forward. Stumbling somewhat she sent the king a tentative smile as he stood, whirling to give Stratos a scowl that promised retribution. He just sent her a wink as he closed the door, and she turned to face Aurii, who was beaming from ear to ear and holding his arms open wide.

"Aurora! Come, come! It has been a busy week, hmm?"

Swallowing back her nerves, which she still had occasionally. because he -was- still Tristan's dad, and the freaking king, she moved forward to tentatively give him a hug. When her feet left the ground as he crushed her in a strong grip she couldn't help the bark of laughter that came out, only stumbling once as he put her down. She felt a bit more relaxed after that though, and followed his gesture as he swept a hand for her to sit on one of the little sofas that were in bright reds and golds, covered in matching pillows around a low table. Her eyes were drawn to the piles of scrolls covered in runes and various scribbles, littered with little trinkets and quills that took up the entire table top as she folded her legs underneath her and sat down. Aurii plopped back into his own seat, looking from the mess up to her and the raised eyebrow she was giving him with a sheepish duck of his head.

"Well... this is what I called you for actually... I wanted to try to make something different about the festival this year..."

She blinked at him curiously, leaning forward to peer at the papers as he gestured for her to. The parchment crinkled softly as she picked a few up carefully, looking over them as he spoke.

"The beginning ceremony is the biggest part, perhaps, which is the lighting of the great bonfire. As you know though, I intend to step down after all this.. and so I simply wanted to shake things up a bit."

"Go out with a bang you mean?"

He perked up at her impish smile, apparently having been worried about what her response would be.

"Yes!! I went to my son, who actually pointed me to you for 'creative' advice."

Her gaze snapped up to his in surprise, feeling the heat rushing to her face.

"H-he did?"

"With the utmost confidence! So what do you say, will you help me?"

He held her stare, molten eyes hopeful, and she let out a sigh, trying to hide the pleased smile behind her hand.

"Alright, alright-"

"WONderful!!"

She jumped as the king's voice boomed out, huffing a nervous laugh and ignoring the amusement from the guard stationed at the archway not too far away. Instead she turned her attention to the papers she held, flipping through them to glance across his ideas. Then she paused, looking at one with her lips twitching, and swept her gaze up to the king cheekily.

"So.. a giant seashell?"

He stared at her a heartbeat in sudden horror, then shot forward to snatch the paper faster than she could see, stuffing it into a pocket with a strained laugh before shuffling through the others rapid fire.

"Wha-oh! How did- no oh that is - never mind that it was - ah for something - else, yes, so, disregard that!"

She snickered, pressing the back of her hand against her mouth to stifle the sound, but he finally paused to send her an embarrassed smile, rubbing the back of his neck. So maybe she saw a bit more of Tristan in his father that she had thought.

"So.. ah, about the bonfire lighting ceremony..."

With a thoughtful hum she helped him begin to look over the pages, putting together what the ceremony was to begin with so she would know where to start. 

After a little while of murmuring together, heads bowed over the table, she was struck with a sudden inspiration so off the wall that she whipped up to look at Aurii with a wide grin. He blinked at her in confusion, waiting for an explanation as she practically vibrated with excitement.

"Okay, so we have these things back home called planes, and they're these.. like, machines, made of lots of smaller metal parts put together, and they fly right?"

She pressed her hands together in a triangle of sorts, weaving them through the air like a snake flying, and Aurii's eyes went wide with wonder as he watched. 

"Like, all kinds of different ones! And some of them drop things, or leave smoke trails, and they paint some of them and put them in shows and fly them in specific formations and things like that - its so cool!"

The king nodded, getting into her bright eyed excitement as she gestured wildly amidst bursts of laughter. Even the guard was leaning forward, enraptured by her stories.

"There are people - pilots! - who control the planes and make them do tricks like dives and spins and going way - waaay up to fall back down - and go super fast!"

"By the gods!"

"Yeah! So... so we should have an air show! And use that to light the fire!"

"We - yes! We should! But... what can we use? We do not have any of these ... plaay-nnnns??"

His eyes shimmered, looking dejected as if she'd shown him nirvana to only to rip it away. She slapped her hands down on the table, eyes glinting with a maniacal smile that made him lean back slightly, wide eyed.

"I've got one word for you!"

He gulped, visibly tense as he leaned forward again, closer, intent on her words as she held out for a moment before dropping her voice to a theatrical whisper.

"-Dragons!-"

 

\---

 

A little over an hour later, Aurora held her hands together underneath the ball of light that was an ever changing array of green and gold, letting out a short, excited laugh.

"Okay, so, send me back a message or something, 'kay? I need to know what you guys think! Thanks Aranduil!"

She twisted to see Iridius waiting on the other side of the little bubble she'd had him create, and instantly he dispelled it.

"Okay, I'm through. How do I seal it or whatever?"

Iridius laughed and reached out, the crystalline sound of his magic pinging through the air in response. She had left Aurii to run straight to the solar room, first explaining what she needed, while still being secretive about what exactly she needed to send a message to the Elder Dragon about, and finally had gotten the hang of the small spell from Iridius. Then she'd made him put up the small barrier so that nobody could hear what she said into the magical recording, all the while hoping the dragons wouldn't laugh themselves into a coma.

The ball wavered, bouncing once in her grasp as if excited to be off, and she beamed at the scholar happily.

"Thank you so much Iridius! Now... you said I just needed to focus on Aranduil for the imprint and let it go, right?"

"Yes, it should be very simple."

With a deep breath for confidence, she curled her fingers around the dancing ball of light to still it, conjuring up the image of the elder dragon in her mind, his scent, the feel of his scales, his voice, and the ancient, lilting music of his magic that surrounded him. The sudden ping of sound in her hand had her jumping, eyes flying open, and the ball lifted up, hovering only a moment, before zipping off in a streak right out one of the archways. She stared after it with her jaw dropped, before turning around to grin happily at Iridius who looked quietly proud.

"I did it! Right? That was good right?"

He gave a soft laugh, reaching out to pat her shoulder and smile.

"Yes, that was very good."

She wanted to squeal, but instead watched after him as he moved off, returning to his seat at his desk, covered in all sorts of strange trinkets and contraptions, with rolled up scrolls and blank parchment everywhere amidst splatters of ink and random quills. 

"So what else have you to do today?"

At his voice she startled, wiping the overly fond smile off her face, and thought about his question. 

Finally she was done with her gift, and she could only wait for a response from the dragons on what they would do. There wasn't anything else she needed to do really. After all, any 'getting ready' she would do for the festival would be done tomorrow, because Marcellus had finished what few alterations he'd needed to do a couple days ago. She had dinner plans with Tristan, she was pretty sure, which meant she had a couple hours to kill.

The thought stopped her cold, and just like that the anger from earlier came roaring back in a wave that scaled her throat. 

"Actually, I do have one more thing I have to go do. I'll see you after while Iridius."

He twisted to watch after her in surprise as she suddenly turned and stormed off, running a hand through his hair in confusion.

"What was that about?"

 

 

She couldn't believe she had forgotten for this long.

Well, actually, yes she could, she thought, feet barely skimming across the floors of the sithen as she stomped towards the tapestry on the far end. She'd been quite busy all day, since climbing out of that damned gorge and helping the dragons, then finishing the torc and helping Aurii. 

But she had a bone to pick with a certain asshole.

"Send me word of your safe return - my ass, just wait till I -"

Turning a corner she slammed into someone, arms pinwheeling to keep her balance as she rebounded backwards. The Sidhe hit the ground in a flash of color with an indignant yelp of fury, and Aurora was instantly apologizing and trying to help.

"Oh shit! I- I'm so sorry! I was in a hurry and - Morrigan?!"

Oh shit, really? She inwardly cursed when the queens scoring bright eyes lifted up to narrow on her, but still she held out her hand, trying to help. It was just a moment and the Queen finally heaved a sigh that sounded just a little like a snarl, and reached for the offered hand. She was surprised, admittedly, but she helped the other woman to her feet, wincing apologetically.

"I really am sorry-"

"Think nothing of it."

Aurora fell silent, eyes wide as she watched the queen adjust her riot of curly hair and dust off her skirt.

"T'was an accident, nothing more. I am unharmed."

Then she turned with a small smile, and took a step back.

"But I fear I am in a hurry as well, so I must go."

Without another word the queen spun and hurried off, and Aurora peeked around the corner to watch her rush down the next hallway in stunned surprise. Had that shit really just happened? After all, this was the same woman who had -

And there it was, all over again.

The anger was a rush that slid up her spine and itched under her skin with heat, making her spin and start back toward her original destination. Soon as she sat her foot down though, there was a crack of splintering wood, and she froze. Looking down in confused silence for a moment she stared at the little twig of grey bark that still had three or four little half grown, blue leaves attached.

Where had that come from? Had it fell off the queen?

She snorted and stepped over it, hurrying on her way.

There was no way it had fell off the queen, why would she have been out in the woods? She didn't seem the type to wander like that.

It had to have just been hanging on her dress from her early morning romp through the woods.

 

Two more short hallways and she reached that tapestry again. A quick look around showed the coast was clear, and she was sliding through the doorway before it had opened all the way. Her feet flew down the corridor, anger making her steps sharp, and kept at bay any fear of the dark that wanted to slither in, burning it away as she raced down, deeper underground to the home of the sidhe she needed to see.

Those tall grey doors came into view, the blue tridents etched into the wood illuminated by the one torch, casting strange shadows as she skidded to a stop. 

This time she didn't loose her nerve, she didn't even knock. Without batting an eyelash she made a gesture, called it to her hand, and heard the music rise up around her with something near a roar as she waved her hand. The doors blew open, crashing back against the walls with a sound like thunder as she stepped through. Movement by the far doorway had her turning, eyes blazing as the very asshole she had wanted to see bounded out of the hallway and flung his arms up. Magic screamed across the room toward her, but she was already stomping toward him, and threw her hand out in an arc. The blue runes on her arm glittered to brilliant life, overshadowing the yellow glow from moment before as the wave of water sailing toward her parted. It cleared and hit the far wall in two giant spots with a clash of sound, and Llyr focused on her in surprise, then a sudden proud amusement as he relaxed.

"Oh, my pet! I knew you would make it back safely!"

He held out his arms, as if expecting a hug, smiling, smug. Her temper roared up another notch and as she reached him, his brows started to furrow curiously because she wasn't slowing down. Instead she cocked her fist, twisted back, and threw every ounce of her weight into it as she slammed her fist into his stomach. He choked, bending in half, and she brought up her knee without thinking, fury making her act before she thought. Her fist was already aching, and when her knee slammed into his cheek, it was like hitting fucking concrete. He gave a strangled yelp and stumbled backwards while she hopped on one foot and held her knee, hissing curses at him.

"How dare you act like you're happy to see me and haven't done anything at all! Fuck you! You could have helped me but no, you just ran off and left me hanging in that goddamned gorge like it was nothing! I wouldn't heal from that you cowardly prick! You-"

He barely raised his head, one hand across his jaw as glittering eyes landed on her, and she stopped. But then she squared her shoulders, because fuck him, she wasn't backing down now.

When she opened her mouth he tackled her, arms wrapping around her middle and sending them flying. Pain splintered through her ribs, but self preservation had her curling forward, wrapping her arms around her head to protect it as her feet left the ground. When they crashed into the floor she wheezed, the air completely leaving her lungs and making her arch her back up through the pain to make them work, the sand blowing out around them and halfway covering her in itching spots.. Above her Llyr slithered up to straddle her hips, hair falling in disarray around him, eyes boiling with power. It roiled over her skin in a scalding wave that made her gasp, then want to scream because breathing was NOT a good idea right now.

"Look... at you..."

She curled her lip and snarled at him, still absolutely furious, temper urging her to fight as his eyes danced with amusement and something darker that made the hair on her neck stand up in alarm. He raised a hand to his mouth, pressing fingertips against his lip where there was a splash of sapphire liquid, eyes narrowing at the feel of his own blood. A dark chuckle rumbled out of his throat as he leaned forward, voice the velvet purr of something that hunts in the dark, sending chills down her spine.

"Such a spirited little thing... hmmmm? I did not think you had it in you..."

She swung up her other fist again, and he ducked back, snatching her wrist in a bruising hold and pinning her hand down. Already full aware that trying to buck him off would do no good, she stilled, panting for breath through the splinters in her side.

"Come now pet.."

He splayed a hand across her ribs, his touch cool even through her dress, and then applied just a touch of pressure. The splintering pain doubled like a spike piercing her side and she yelped, trying to twist to the side and away. She heaved for breath and tried seriously not to let the bile coating her throat come up, sending him a dark glare. He'd let off almost as soon as he'd done it, and was watching her with hooded eyes. Something sparked within the depths of his gaze, and his tongue flicked out to swipe along his bottom lip, smearing the drop of blue, almost black, blood that was splashed there. From her.

It made her curl her lips, baring her teeth in an almost triumphant smile as she watched the action.

He went still, an eerily statue like shift, fingers paused a hairs breadth from his lips with his gaze trained on her. She held her breath as the metallic colors of his eyes flashed, and were nearly swallowed by the black as he inhaled. Oh shit.

The air seemed to thicken, making it harder to breathe, bringing her heart pounding hard enough that she could hear the sound filling her ears. Then the hand holding her wrist shifted, pressing the pads of his fingers against her pulse, and those eyes sharpened on hers. Was he, was he checking her pulse?!

Before she could react, pull her hand away to hide her thundering heart, he was leaning forward, hair falling around them in a silken curtain that rippled more than normal, the motions choppy like water during a storm. 

"Why did you really come, hmm? Why are you so very angry with me? I did not put you in that precarious situation, you did that yourself."

"B-because you could've helped me!"

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?! Because I was in danger!"

His brows drew together as he looked at her in genuine puzzlement. Was he for real?

"So? You were more than capable of getting out yourself. And you did. Why did it become my responsibility?"

"Because we're supposed to be partners you asshole!! You don't just leave your partner in danger! You help them!!"

She pressed her lips together then, trying to calm her racing heart since she'd apparently thought yelling that in his face was a good idea. His metallic eyes had gone wide in surprise though, staring down at her with his lips parted in shock. Unsure of what else to do while he stared at her so instantly, she turned her head away and huffed, feeling her cheeks heating under his regard. What the fuck was wrong with her?

Llyr leaned back slowly, cocking his head to the side, and she felt his hands let go of her. His weight shifted, and she flinched in surprise when there was a light touch at her cheek, urging her to turn back. It brought her gaze back up to his, which looked darker, quiet, and oddly somber of a sudden as he stared at her like she held the secrets of the universe. All the asking from moments before was gone.

"Partners..."

She barely heard the soft murmur, though it made her curious. What was he thinking? 

"How... why do you say you are my partner?"

Swallowing hard, she couldn't help but fidget just a little. Hadn't they already done this?

"I... well, you said you needed my help, and I was useful and all that... I - I don't know! You had this whole plan and suddenly you added me to it and gave me the whole speech to convince me, and now - what? Isn't that what this is?!"

He stared at her for what felt like forever, as if weighing her words, before he suddenly stood in an oddly graceful move and held out a hand. She stared at it a bit suspiciously for a moment, before finally reaching up and letting him help her to her feet. When his hand moved towards her ribs again she shied away, baring her teeth at him.

"I swear if you-"

"Hush."

Did he just-

"Be still."

She balled up her fist, ready to punch him if he tried anything else, but was more than a little surprised when he flattened his hand over her ribs, eyes starting to spark with soft light. A new smell filtered through her senses, just the barest breathe of rain on the air, and something slid over her skin where he touched like a spill of warm water. She looked down in surprise, expecting to see it, but saw only the faintest glow from his palm, and then let out a more than relieved breath of free air as the pain in her side melted away as if it had never been. When she looked up, he was staring at her with a small frown, but pulled his hand away, crossing one over his chest as he stepped back and turned slightly. He gestured with the other, voice softer than before.

"Forgive me... I do not think I have ever had a... partner. I ... did not understand."

What could she say to that?? 

Indecision made her hesitate, but only for a moment before she licked her lips nervously, one hand reaching up to gingerly touch her ribs that no longer hurt, turning her gaze down and away.

"But you did.. I mean, you had your brothers."

The silence felt heavy, descending like a blanket to suffocate her. When would she learn to shut her damned mouth and -

"It was not the same. Perhaps... it could have been all my own, but... never mind. It does not matter."

She glanced up in shock, seeing his gaze clearing from that glazed over, far away stare, and he frowned, turning away as he waved his hand as though it was truly unimportant, voice hardening.

"You have said what you came to say, and do. You had best return, they will be searching for you."

Her gaze was glued to his back, and she paused, wondering. This time there was no wicked smirk, no anger, no confident swagger, not even a manic laughter to scare her off, warning her away from the dark tunnels and the lone Sidhe within them. This time there was only quiet, something rigidly painful in the set of his shoulders, a vulnerability within his voice that made her hesitate. 

Aw hell.

She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoped she was sort of telling the truth.

"Actually I ah... have a little while..."

Magic slithered around her, something cautious and seeking, the soft lap of waves against stone, and he turned only enough to put himself in profile, gaze settling on her from the corner of his eye. The metallic colors shifted, darkening slightly as he thought, maybe trying to decide what to do. Then he curled his lip, twisted his head away and snapped his eyes closed.

"Tch. Then go find something to do. What do you wish me to do? Tell you some tale for children to amuse you?"

"I thought you would like to tell me your story actually. What really happened.... I'd like to ..understand."

He halfway whirled, mouth opening to surely bellow something caustic at her, but he stopped, searching her gaze, looking far deeper than she thought he should. But then he just turned away with another scoff, hands fisting at his side as his feet whispered across the sand. When he stopped in front of a long tapestry, he tilted his head back to look up at it, lingering upon the colors of a pastel sunset spread above a view of the ocean. He stood there without a word, long enough that she watched his shoulders loosening slowly as he breathed in and out to let go of that terrible tension. 

She shifted from foot to foot, waiting through the quiet before she let out a soft breath and wilted. Guess he really didn't want to talk about it after all. Instead of continuing to wait she turned and started toward the far door, steps quiet through the soft sand, and came up short at his voice. It seemed rougher than normal, shaky even, despite the iron beneath it.

"My story is... nothing good."

She turned slowly, blinking wide eyes in surprise as he spoke, while he searched for somewhere to begin. Before she could talk herself out of it, because she had started it, had asked, she stayed in place and glued her eyes to him. He never moved as he began to speak, gaze trained on the tapestry above him, head tilted back just so, the length of his hair settling slightly around him as if calm. Somehow, she doubted he was.

"Perhaps the majority of our people all agree that children are a blessing, and are happy to have them when such a gift is bestowed upon them. I have not figured out yet if my father did not share the sentiment, or simply twisted it to his own way of thinking. He was happy in a way, when I was born, because it meant he had a soldier to groom, a small version of himself to make the ultimate warrior and show off to his friends. I had no toys when I was small, no time for playing. At least, looking back, I can see that. But then, I wanted only to do as my father wished. I never knew it was different than other children.

"By my second birthday, I spoke as fluently as any adult, could read and write just as well. The only reasons I needed those skills were for the magic, and since I was too young yet to wield a sword, no matter how small. Toy swords were not allowed, they would change my view on them, because they were not toys, he said, they were weapons. Instruments of power.

"The day after my third birthday, my father took me to a lake. It had been to give me more lessons on swimming, since I had taken to the water training he had given me in the past like a fish. Up to then he had kept me in pools of water around our home, nothing fresh, nor even seawater. At the first touch of it, my power came alive as if that was all it had been waiting on. I did not understand what I had done to make my father so proud, not even when Iridius came days later to proclaim my power, but I was happy. My father was proud.

"Through the next years, growing into a young adult, I was trained everyday, ceaselessly. It was as if father waited on a war with a strange fervor. He was gripped with bloodlust, the old urge to fight, because he had been in the Great Wars. When he had walked off those battlefields.. perhaps he left something behind, or never truly departed...

"I became a machine, a soldier of perfection. My skill in combat, in magic, was renowned even then.

"Then came the day my mother found she was pregnant once more."

His lips curved in a smile that was brittle and sharp like broken marble, aching around the edges and full of something bitter. It made her shiver, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Father was overjoyed, ecstatic to have another soldier to train. But what he got was Morrigan, a girl. She was not born with the spirit of a soldier he said. What I got, was a wake up call. As soon as father had something new, he had been more then ready to leave me behind, move on to the next achievement. Instead of forgetting, I worked harder, pushed myself to exhaustion, broken and bleeding everyday, barely sleeping because I healed, burying myself within the confines of my room to hide the sounds of bones snapping back together in the silence of the night. Father had always been harsh, unyielding, and quick to fix anything that I had done wrong. To 'correct' me for failing, having an attitude... anything really. I learned quickly that father was not to be woken up by my little sister crying, and I learned to wake, if I was asleep, to the slightest hiccup from her.

"Strangely... I grew attached to the small bundle, which seemed to be the only thing in my world that had ever looked at me with such light in its eyes, as if I were the most important thing... she began to cry for me instead if wanting our parents. Where there had been nothing before, where I had been jealous, resentful even at first, I became enamoured. I.. became her protector from our fathers wrath."

Aurora's chest felt tight and her eyes burned. How could people do this sort of thing to their children? Before he went further, she broke in with a soft question, because it was bugging her, something missing in his explanation.

"What about your mother?"

He flinched, a quick movement that rippled his hair, lips tightening for a moment. She heard the briefest change in his music, like a record player hitching, before it smoothed out again. It made her brace herself for an even worse explanation than before, but it never came.

"Mother... was a gentle creature. Something soft and loving.. with a voice like the goddess herself.."

Aurora's jaw dropped in surprise, watching as something took hold of his expression, an aching sadness, different from before, that actually made her hands itch to walk over and wrap him in a hug to tell him it was okay.

"Her name was Aine, and she was the very image of Boreas. Hair like the shadows of night, skin pale as moonlight. But her eyes were always full of love... some soft emotion that seemed to have no place in my life back then. Father.. he rescued her from the fir bohlg, and she... 'fell in love', with her savior. She was a healer, her magic that of love, fertility, healing.. she had no place with a man like my father, who took her in for the sole purpose of bearing him children, which she did. She would come in the night, sneaking away from his side, to help me... to heal my own pains and teach me how. Before the morning light she would be gone as if she had never come, and I realized years later that I was not the only one who suffered my fathers wrath. Once I realized that... I became her protector as well as my sisters... I stood between him and the object of his wrath, I took the brunt of his punishments, then got up, and continued my training.

"I became a mirror of him... cold, hard, unyielding. When my next siblings were born, he seemed to calm somewhat, their training not as harsh, their punishments less severe. Still, I stood between them, watched my younger siblings look up to me with awe that they never had my father, and watched it make him bitter. Still, there was nothing to be done, nothing I could do. As they grew older, they changed themselves. Boreas grew sneaky, smart and tricky to avoid being caught doing anything, or to get away if he was."

A genuine smile lit up his face as he spoke, reaching up to rub the back of his neck with a low chuckle.

"Once, during lessons, he snuck to the scholars scrying mirror and changed some of the runes between lectures. When - when the scholar returned and activated the mirror, it connected to a mirror in the castle showers, where half of the servants were currently bathing! We all erupted into laughter, even I, and the scholar had a fit trying to close the link. They could not prove it was Boreas, he was too good by then to be caught, but they knew he was the best at such things out of the class... and told our father anyway."

His look of fond amusement, the soft laughter he'd let out while speaking of his younger brothers mischief struck her, made her take a few steps closer out of instinct. But at the end, he dropped his hand, eyes falling closed, and shuddered once from head to toe. With a deep breath, he continued as if he'd never let off from his story, but she knew, with a quiet horror, that their father had been very mad. 

"Aedh was different. Where I was cold, aloof, stoic even.. he was everything I was not. He was fire, the very element he wielded ran through him and gave him a life brighter than any that had come before. I imagine he was what our mother was like, before she had been taken, before her spirit was broken in that horror so long ago. No matter what I tried, how many times I came between them, he always bowed up to my father. He refused to cow for anyone, or anything. He was fierce, a wild, passionate thing from the moment he took his first breath..

"So, we each grew into great power, and then one day.."

Here he paused, hands twitching as if reaching for something. The blue runes upon his arms flickered as if answering his call, and his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"I do not even remember what we had done, but the three of us messed up while training, and our father was roaring, absolutely furious. My mother stood aside, holding my sister behind her, watching with saddened eyes. But by then, we were men too, and even I no longer bowed before my father. When he attacked, Boreas stepped just behind my right side, and Aedh mirrored him on my left, bringing up their hands to drop them on my shoulders. When our magics mixed, all of us pushing on our own power, it was as if the very world exploded around us. I have no words for the things we saw, and it was as if time stood still. Then.. the world came back into focus. Our mother was scared, huddling against the house and hiding Morrigan, and father was sprawled in the dirt. His fury melted away as he saw the three of us, as the bright light that had appeared around us in a whirling maelstrom of power unlike anything i had ever seen finally drew away. But it left something behind.

"In my hands I held the elemental artifact of water, Aedh held fire, and Boreas, earth."

He reached up one hand to scuff it across his face, finally lifting his face back to see the tapestry before him again. 

"From that day forward we were men in our own power, our father too afraid to hit us, to lash out anymore. We were the chosen guardians. We were special now, members of the upper class, invited to social gatherings, parties, and all manner of events at the courts. My family were beyond ecstatic, happily going along with it all. I saw my father, the absolute terror of my own existence,  begin to calm. None of them cared to train very much anymore, although they did on occasion.

"That was when I realized that none of them were as serious as they needed to be about the power we now held. The potential we had within our grasp to be something worthwhile."

It was as if he had grabbed hold of the fire he'd said his little brother held as he turned, holding his hands up, eyes alight with the crackle of power, lips curving in an excited smile. His gestures became smoother, more eloquent as he spoke with awe, drawing her another step closer as she listened and felt her heart begin to pound in response.

"I just knew there was more, that something was so close, but not quite there. We were all aware that much of the great magics of the land had begun to fade in the wake of Merlin's disappearance, and I refused to believe that there was nothing to be done. So with what I believed to be one of the keys at my beck and call, I took to the endless stores of knowledge scattered throughout the lands that were available to me now, and lost myself in the research. It was after combing through most of what was known of Merlin's writings that I came upon the lesser circulated ones. These were the pages of his grimoire written while in close contact with the gods, things that seemed like mad ramblings of an insane old mystic that had long since lost his good sense. But there it was, exactly what I had been looking for!"

His tone went hushed, gaze wide and intent, hands splayed out as if mapping the very constellations with his fingertips.

"Inside one of those endless pages, that all the others had always looked over with misguided assumptions that it was nothing worth seeing, was the information I could fee in my very bones. When the gods had given Merlin the tools he needed to bring the land back into harmony, to shape the spell he would later weave as the Ritual of Harmony, there were two." 

She gasped, and his smile lit up the entire room, excitement pouring off of him like a child at their first carnival, trembling with it as he gestured and spoke rapid fire. 

"Exactly! You understand! What Merlin held were surely the two most powerful artifacts that the gods had trusted us with so far! But he feared their power, he did not trust the sidhe to control them, and he would not hand such power over to just one. So he took the first artifact, splitting it into six elements, and the gods agreed, choosing guardians powerful enough to wield them, strong and capable enough to be their champions and hold the fate of the entire world in their hands!"

"But there's seven!"

"Yes!! The seventh, the element of spirit, was the last piece left of the original artifact, the one thing powerful enough to channel the power of the other six all at once! Merlin's crystal ball is all that was left, the last direct link, the last piece of the original artifact that had come from the gods hands itself!

"Then he split the other artifact in two, forging two crowns for two kings, one for the golden, shining court, and one for the dark, glimmering court. And, well, you know the rest of that..."

She nodded, hands clasped together in front of her, drawn into his excitement. But he began to wilt, lips turning down, and his gaze skittered away as he heaved a sigh that seemed to take all the wind he had with it. It made her pause, feeling trepidation creeping in to replace her own smile, because she just knew that this was about to get bad.

"I went to my siblings with the intent of sharing my knowledge with them, to tell them of my great findings. It would have made history!! But.. none of them cared. They had shrugged off my absence as my usual preoccupation with training too much, or studying too much. Meanwhile they had continued the parties, and what I returned to was in fact an event by Aurii's parents, made so that he could propose his engagement to my sister there in front of them all. Apparently it was such a glorious, wonderful thing, that nobody cared. Boreas brushed aside my concerns, saying he could look at what I had found afterwards, Aedh listened for a moment, actually seeming interested, but even he turned away as my father came up. He told me not to ruin my sisters day with such inconsequential things, told me if I could not join the festivities, that I should go. So, I took my leave.

"After that, I hid my research away, told myself it would be worth it all when I figured out the spell to put them back together. I told myself that with that information they would change their minds, return to their training with me.. that I would once again be the amazing big brother that I had always been to them before.."

There was so much sorrow in the lines of his face, staring forlornly at the floor as his hands slowly fell to hang loosely at his side, that it broke her heart. She stepped closer once more, bringing her almost within arms reach of him, hesitating just barely from offering comfort. It was only the fear that he would stop his story that kept her still, holding back, because she knew that somewhere here was the moment, the cause of everything.

"Sometime after, my siblings came together and decided to pull me away from my studies, bring me back out into the world as they said. And it worked, for whatever reason, I let them do it. I had truly missed them, and found myself happy, forgetting for a time my aspirations of such power. I was there, the lot of us together again, inseparable through my sisters marriage, and then her announcement of being with child. We were all so happy for her, so glad she had found a good mate.. and I loved that babe instantly, just like I had with each of my own siblings. My research gathered dust in the confines of my study, left behind for years while I ran about with the lot of them. Then...

"Then came the day that my nephew presented his powers, earlier than even I had. Powers much like my own. I was happy for him, for them, even when that old scholar came. I had every intention of calling my artifact, showing it to my nephew and making him some present for his birthday with my own magic there in front of him. He had always been so fascinated by it, by me and what I could do... but.. calling the artifact was suddenly like trying to catch hold of flowing water, slippery in my grasp and elusive. There but somehow indistinct around the edges, and I knew, then I knew that he would replace me, that he would take away my power before I could ever truly experience it."

His eyes sparked before he shut them tightly, balling his hands into fists that mottled his skin white with the force. Around him the air crackled with power, biting over her skin as his hair lifted, the motions becoming choppy and erratic as his music beat a staccato rhythm. 

"I left the party after that early in a fit of rage, and found to my surprise that Aedh had followed me in concern. I do not even fully remember the conversation, whatever excuses I gave him, but he bought them, and it made me even more furious that he could not see, did not understand!! After that I returned to my studies with a vengeance, finally understanding the truth...

"None of them were worthy to hand the power, only I had the drive, the ability. Only I cared enough to wield them! And so I decided right then that I would find a way to call them all to me, to piece them back together and reforge the original artifact into one. I immersed myself within the confines of my study, giving the simple explanation that I was looking for something to help us all, about why the great magics were fading from the land. It was true, just not the way they all took it, but that was not my fault, I told them. It only furthered my point, my conviction that I was right when none of them did anything to help, just went on about their lives and left it to me. But that was alright, because it would be better that way."

He had grown louder, steadier in his words as he continued, until the end where he hesitated, stated the last bit in a soft voice as if he didn't truly believe that it had been alright after all. Twisting back around, he crossed his arms over his chest, pulling his shoulders in as he looked back up at the tapestry once more. His expression smoothed out slightly, but he still looked troubled, anxious, and she didn't know what to do.

"It was years after that when I thought I had unraveled the spells that would bring the artifacts to me over whoever the gods chose to give them to. I knew from vague mentions that it was possible, and my first attempt went unheeded. I realized I needed the ones who already held the artifacts to give them up, or die to free them. When the guardian of shadows scoffed at me, I killed him in combat with his own blade."

It rolled off his tongue so easily that for a full minute she didn't react. He was already on his next explanation when her eyes snapped wide, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

"It should tell you what kind of imbecile he was, that everyone believed he had managed to accidentally kill himself with some training accident."

That made her hesitate, because he had a point, voice dripping with disdain. She didn't agree with it, but he did have a point.

"But my spell was unsuccessful. The artifact returned to .. well, whatever limbo the gods leave them in when not here, and it was out of my reach. So I studied more, worked myself to exhaustion. In a few years, I tried again. This time, when the guardian of light refused to see my point, I poisoned her. This time, I had more success, I had the artifact in my grasp. It showed at my call, but did not fully manifest, slipping away like sand through my fingers. I figured out my errors, all but one last thing. It seemed like there was still something missing. Some strange piece, no matter how hard I tried, or how much I worked, that I could not find. So, I went to the one person whom I thought could help me... my father."

She had briefly felt, perhaps only twice in her life before, the sensation of her blood 'running cold' as the old saying goes, and it never seemed to get better. Chills raced across her skin, making her shudder, and the movement caught his attention. He tilted his head to see her, eyes heavy lidded and slumberous, as though supremely calm, but she could hear the grating music of his magic, like waves crashing against stone.

"He refused. Claimed that he had been wrong, all those years. Told me some pathetic story of his fight with Aedh only weeks before and how they had mended things, how he had been trying to make things better with all of us. That I should put all these ideas aside, and he would never tell anyone, just let it go. I was so angry, so upset that even now when I thought I still did things the way he had always pushed me to, I was not good enough. So, we fought.

"I found that my power had far surpassed that of my insipid father, the man who had ruled my life with an iron hand for so long. Without any reason otherwise, my anger was so great that as I stared down at him, I could find no mercy, no reason to let something so pathetic continue its existence. Yet when I charged him, I was stopped by something..."

His voice cracked, eyes falling shut, and a tremor rocked him, made him hang his head. Alarm shot through her, because she didn't know how to react. What would she possibly say to help him?

"The very bloodlust he had created cleared, and I stared down at my own blade, embedded in my mothers body where she had tried to protect him... I ... I watched the life drain from her eyes, while my father watched in fear, and her blood ran hot across my hands..."

He raised his hands then, shaking, staring horrified at them as if he didn't know where they had come from, as if he could still see the blood there. His skin had gone terribly pale, and she just wanted to say something, anything.

"I killed her.. me... I killed the one thing that had always given me comfort and love!"

She jumped as his voice rose from a broken whisper to a bellow that shook with grief, and he collapsed, knees hitting the floor with a dull thud. He covered his face and breathed in ranged pants, heaving for breath, and she knew that sound, she'd had enough panic attacks to recognize one. Before she thought better of it she dropped down beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, slowed his rocking to calm him down, murmured softly to him and held back her own tears. What a terrible thing to have gone through.

She wasn't sure how long they stayed there, but he shuddered finally, gently stilling himself, and she carefully unwound her arms, rocking back on her heels to look at him. When he turned to face her, he'd swiped a hand over his face, eliminating all traces of anything save the glimmer of his eyes, and he seemed surprised to find her so close. He just continued to stare at her, and she offered the only thing she could say.

"I'm sorry Llyr... I wish you hadn't had to go through something like that.."

His cheeks darkened, gaze skittering away, and he took in a shaky breath. This time his voice was low, soft, and almost neutral, as though he were working hard to control himself, or had let out everything he'd had already.

"In that moment, something within me broke. I could feel it. I carefully sat her down and found myself in a rage the likes of which I had never known before. It was as if I suddenly tapped into all these emotions I had hidden away; the rage, anguish, contempt, and now, the guilt.. it all came flooding out like a tidal wave, and with it came my magic, freeing itself from its tether to roar through the air like  a hurricane.... By the time I came back to myself, the house was in shambles, and father was dead. I stood there in the aftermath, still full of rage, and had one thought; that I was through."

He shoved to his feet, staggering only once, and went back to the tapestry, stopping at the base of it to fist his hands in the fabric and glare up at it, finishing his story with a growl in his throat, his shoulders so rigid it was painful to see.

"I stood over my mothers broken body, and bellowed my grief and rage to the heavens at the gods themselves. If they were alright with sitting back and allowing such a travesty to happen, for her to die protecting him, then they were not fit to be in power. I would gather the artifacts, no matter what it took, and control the power. Then I could control the prophecy, I could determine such fate... and nobody would have to suffer like that when I was  through.. I alone would be worthy to handle the magic, and I would do it right."

He snarled the last word, twisting his body and tearing the tapestry down from the wall. She stumbled to her feet with a gasp, gaze glued to the great painting he had unveiled. There in sweeping colors was a work of such detail she thought the figure was actually breathing for just a heartbeat. The woman stood by a tall tree, halfway turned to look straight out of the painting, with the most gentle eyes she had over seen, a strangely angelic face, and a spill of bright flowers woven into her dark hair. She could see the resemblance to the three men she knew.

Pressing a hand to her chest to hide the ache, she swept her gaze back down to Llyr, and saw the anguish settled into his features, one hand raised up, fingertips just barely brushing the bottom of the painting. The image of his mother.

"I would make her proud of me.. even if it meant doing terrible things to get there."

His hand fell away and he lowered his head, straightened his shoulders. She could see him rebuilding himself, putting back up the wall he had let crumble upon telling the story.

"I stood amidst the rubble and planned. I ran away, hid behind my books, and expressed my grief just like the others when Boreas and Morrigan came to tell me. A subtle word of caution to my siblings planted the seeds of doubt toward Aedh, and from there it was almost too easy. But then the fool ran away, instead of fighting like he always had. It left me with no choice but to change my plan, and I simply went after my nephew to make sure he could not replace me before I was ready. Morrigan found me, and Boreas was with her. We fought, but he had never been as good in hand to hand as I, and was losing. But I needed the artifact. I could see the threads of connection, and was able to tap into it, to call it to me. He never noticed it to fight me. I ran then, leaving the job unfinished, but I had planned on returning. Then I ran into another opportunity, I found my little brother. I could not help but tell him about what had happened, shake his belief in Boreas, when it should have been in me anyway! This time we fought, and surprisingly enough, he was close to besting me, but in his anger he became reckless. He even threw the artifact away. I will admit, when I retrieved it, I was distracted, and he managed to get in the blow that gave me this scar. I retaliated, and while I lay there, bleeding, he ran again. I remember Morrigan alone finding me, I felt Aedh's life force disappear as he died, and once I was healed, I finished the ritual that did in fact take hold when I caught up the artifacts. My soft hearted sister refused to believe, and as I am sure you are aware, my sister comes to me often. Even her husband is aware of my presence, comes down here on the occasion. He is a fool, that one, but it is no matter... he is useless anyway and will not effect my plans. I will kill him for his crown when I am ready for it. Until then, I will continue my spells, my plans, and I will obtain the rest of the artifacts...

"And that.. my pet.."

The term rolled out of his mouth without thought, causing her to start as he swung around to look at her, blinking wide eyes like an animal caught in the spotlight. With his hands up and out, he started toward her, his usual saunter back in place, eyes sharp and heated, flickering with power that she could feel breathing across her skin. She couldn't force her feet to move, unable to come up with anything to say, to do, could only watch. Charmed by the proverbial snake.

Cool hands slid against her neck, up to curl around her jaw and tilt her head back as he stepped right into her space. His robe billowed around her legs, hair sliding over his shoulder as his voice dropped to a rough rumble of sound.

"...is where you come in."

She swallowed with a click of sound, and felt her heart skip a few beats. 

Shit.

"I..do?"

"Of course.. you are getting the artifacts for me.."

He leaned forward, brushing his lips across her forehead as he murmured to her.

"And you have already found the crystal.."

His hands tightened, slid back into her hair, and pulled. It brought her back, grasping at him to keep her balance, wide gaze snapping up to his as he practically purred, eyes glimmering at her. 

He looked... proud.

"Such a good girl..."

Heat rushed to her cheeks and she sputtered, pushing at him a little, causing him to chuckle and slowly release her.

"Right.. you had best get back, before you are missed."

"Y-yeah, right  I need to - to ah, go.."

Only getting a soft hum in response, she skittered backwards, bumping into one of the couches and rambling out an apology.

'Sh-shit! Sorry - I ah, m'just gonna go now... I ah... okay yeah.. bye!"

The last was almost a squeak as she reached the doors, slipping through and tearing down the tunnel back toward the sithen. Her heart was thundering in her ears, making her gasp for breath as she flew over the uneven ground and refused to look, to even slow down. 

Once at the doorway she only paused long enough to make sure the hallway was clear before sneaking out and carefully closing the door behind her. Then she bolted down the hall, heading for the nearest archway where she could see daylight, bursting out into the sun like a maniac.

As soon as she felt the warmth on her skin she wheeled to a stop, bending double to brace her hands on her knees and heave for a free breath. It took a few minutes, but the bands around her chest loosened, finally, and the creeping feeling of cold that had been sliding up her spine began to fade. 

Just as she was taking a good, long breath, music pulsed above her in time with the excited flapping of wings, startling her up, back, and down. She yelped right before she hit the ground, and looked up to find Dainia flapping slowly, expression sheepish as she came to a slow land, alighting on Aurora's bent knee.

/Forgive me Daughter I did not mean to startle you - I was over excited. But I have great news!/

"What is it?!"

/Aranduil was at Sariendiel's cave when your message arrived, and they both agreed - they love your idea!/

Aurora gasped, felt everything else fall away as she straightened and excitement zinged through her system.

"Really?! Oh my god-"

/Yes! And I have been sent to tell you their answer and receive any further details about their role in the ceremony while the Elder went to tell the others he thought would like to participate!/

"We - we have to go find Aurii!! Oh this is gonna be so awesome!"

She scrambled to her feet and after letting the phoenix alight on her forearm, and giving her a careful one armed hug, they took off towards the King's rooms. 

This was going to be epic!!

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this to my facebook friends, and a couple of them have really taken a liking to it, to the point a few friends are trying to talk me into actually trying to get this published. I'm still highly unsure of my own writing skills about all this, but, since I've gotten some pretty positive feedback, I figured I could post it here too..  
> Anyways, hope it's worth the time to read.  
> Updating it a bit touch and go, BUT after these first few, they start getting anywhere from 10k to 12k, or more, so they're pretty long. Maybe that'll be a plus...


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